llijilf-;: 


THE  OTHER 
MAN'S  COUNTRY 

AN  APPEAL   TO    CONSCIENCE 


BY 

HERBERT  WELSH 


"  Let  us  meet  and  question  this  most  bloody  piece  of  work, 
to  know  it  further" 

Macbeth,  Act  II.  Scene  III. 


PHILADELPHIA 

J.  B.   LIPPINCOTT    COMPANY 

1900 


Copyright,  igoo 
By  J.  B.  Lippincott  Company 


Electrotyped  and  Printed  by 
J.  B.  Lippincoit  Company,  Philadelphia,  U.  S.  A. 


G7^ 

t>.  P  REFACE 

"^       The  events  which  have  taken  place 
^  within  the  last  few  years,  bringing  the 
United  States  rapidly  and  with  dra- 
^  matic  effect  into  the  closest  relation-" 
§  ship  with  outlying  tropical  lands,  have 
of  necessity  profoundly  impressed  the 
minds  and  the  hearts  of  Americans, 
g  Questions  intellectual  and  moral,  re- 
quiring for  their  full  comprehension 
and  just  solution  not  only  the  unaided 
^  operation  of  the  mind  but  the  enlight- 
^  ened  guidance  of  an  acute  and  disci- 
g  plined   moral   sense,   have  been   j^re- 
m   sented  to  us  with  a  suddenness  and  an 
^   insistence  most  bewildering.    We  were 
Q=   startled  with  a  commanding  assurance, 
spoken  from  the  seats  of  highest  au- 
thority,  that    Destiny   called  us  into 
wholly   new   and    unexpected    paths, 
and  that  it  was  our  duty  to  follow  the 


4  PREFACE. 

summons  with  prompt,  unhesitating 
obedience.  The  circumstances  under 
which  that  call  was  uttered  precluded 
the  possibility  of  careful  examination 
into  all  the  reasons  and  facts  that  had 
promj)ted  it,  before  responsive  action 
of  some  sort  must  be  taken.  Whether 
the  voice  that  so  spoke  to  us  was  that 
of  a  true  prophet,  divinely  chosen,  or 
of  a  false  prophet  trying  to  lead  us  out 
into  the  famine  and  the  thirst  of  the 
wilderness,  whence  we  might  never  re- 
turn, it  was  hard  for  any  man  at  once 
to  determine.  Some  said  one  thing 
and  some  another.  Thousands  assured 
us  that  it  was  the  voice  of  God  which 
we  heard,  and  that  to  question  or  hesi- 
tate was  disobedience  to  His  manifest 
providence,  disloyalty  to  our  chosen 
rulers,  if  not  treason  to  our  country. 
But  caution  in  things  spiritual  and 
moral,  as  well  as  in  those  purely  ma- 
terial (if,  indeed,  these  latter  can  ever 
be    wholly     disassociated     from     the 


PEEFACE.  5 

former),  is  a  good  quality  at  all  times, 
and  especially  during  days  of  excite- 
ment and  confusion,  when  currents 
run  swift  and  strong  towards  the  sea  of 
an  untried  policy.  An  apostle  him- 
self tells  us  to  try  the  spirits  whether 
or  not  they  be  of  God.  Some  of  us 
began  to  reflect  that  God  is  Himself 
subject  to  His  own  laws  of  righteous- 
ness in  the  moral  world  as  He  is  to 
those  of  order,  harmony,  and  beauty 
in  the  intellectual  and  physical ;  that 
He  has  expressed  His  wishes  for  His 
children's  guidance  in  the  different 
spheres  of  life,  through  one  form  of 
revelation  or  another,  with  sufficient 
precision  and  clearness  to  silence  the 
excuse,  should  any  one  offer  it,  that 
ignorance  of  the  truth  prevented  obe- 
dience. We  begin  to  understand  the 
laws  by  which  He  governs  the  outside 
world  of  field  and  forest,  flood  and 
sky,  when  as  children  we  learn  to 
avoid  its  most  primitive  pitfalls  and  to 


6  PREFACE. 

enjoy  its  mof"  '^bvious  blessings.  Then 
our  own  dawning  exj)erience,  or  the 
maturer  knowledge  of  parents,  begins 
a  tuition  which  may  progress  and 
broaden  until  in  later  years  the  search- 
ing hand  of  our  intellect  reaches  out 
to  grasp  the  secrets  of  nature's  most 
occult  forces,  or  discloses  the  mysteries 
of  the  most  distant  stars.  All  these 
things,  according  to  God's  plan,  were 
ready  for  our  use  so  soon  as  we  had 
searched  for  them  and  found  them  by 
following  faithfully  those  paths  which 
God  had  opened  for  their  discovery. 
It  was  the  same  path  of  experience 
which  we  began  to  tread  in  childhood. 
There  were  some  who  called  to  mind 
at  this  national  crisis  a  great  truth 
which,  amid  eddying  currents,  kept 
their  rudder  true, — that  God  has  not 
left  man  to  guess  His  purposes  in  the 
moral  world  any  more  than  in  the 
physical.  Man  is  not  to  gather  from 
the  conjunction  of  stars  or  from  the 


PREFACE.  7 

entrails  of  slaughtered  animals  what 
his  duty  is ;  nor  is  he  free  to  excuse  a 
failure  in  doing  that  duty  on  the  alle- 
gation that  Destiny  compelled  his  dis- 
obedience. 

The  words  of  an  eminent  British 
writer  and  man  of  affairs,  Mr.  James 
Bryce,  although  not  intended  to  apply 
to  American  matters,  are  peculiarly 
appropriate  in  this  connection  : 

"  Nations  whose  conscience  is  clear, 
statesmen  who  have  foresight  and  in- 
sight, do  not  throw  the  blame  for  their 
failures  upon  Destiny.  The  chieftain 
in  Homer,  whose  folly  has  brought 
disaster,  says,  '  It  is  not  I  who  am  the 
cause  of  this  :  it  is  Zeus,  and  Fate,  and 
the  Fury  that  walketh  in  darkness.' 
'It  could  not  have  been  helped,  any- 
how,' 'It  was  bound  to  come,' — 
phrases  such  as  these  are  the  last 
refuge  of  despairing  incompetence." 

For  God  has  given  to  man  a  moral 
law  so  simple  yet  so   comprehensive 


8  PREFACE. 

that,  while  it  is  a  safe  guide  in  deter- 
mining his  humblest  individual  acts, 
and  regulating  duties  involved  in  the 
most  obvious  j)ersonal  relationships, 
there  is  no  duty  so  complex  as  not  to 
fall  easily  within  its  scope. 

The  Hebrew  ethical  law,  given  thou- 
sands of  years  ago,  and  at  first  de- 
signed for  the  regulation  of  a  primi- 
tive nomadic  people,  never  more  clearly 
demonstrated  its  serviceability  than  it 
does  to-day  when  applied  to  those 
problems  into  the  consideration  of 
which  a  people  of  highly  complex  civ- 
ilization are  just  entering.  The  ten 
commandments,  with  their  few  funda- 
mental injunctions  and  prohibitions, 
as  summarized  by  the  greatest  of  moral 
teachers,  require  of  us  only  love  to- 
wards God  and  love  towards  man.  The 
wine  of  wisdom,  distilled  through  ages 
of  humanity's  struggles  and  sufferings 
to  attain  knowledge  and  light,  offers  us 
nothing  finer  than  this.     No  Destiny 


PREFACE.  9 

can  fall  upon  us  from  sudden  clouds 
above  our  heads,  or  rise  to  confront 
us  from  the  earth  beneath,  which  can 
rightly  compel  us  to  abate  one  jot  or 
one  tittle  of  this  eternal  law.  If  we 
trust  it,  we  are  safe ;  if  we  despise  it, 
we  are  undone.  By  our  obedience  or 
disobedience  to  it  each  succeeding  age 
with  an  increasing  rigor  will  judge  us, 
and  the  verdict  finally  passed  upon  our 
actions,  and  upon  those  of  all  men,  we 
believe,  will  be  pronounced  according 
to  the  same  high  standard. 

Considerations  of  constitutional 
right,  of  international  law,  of  commer- 
cial expediency,  all  have  a  relative 
value,  and  in  the  discussion  of  the 
Philippine  question  each  one  of  these 
has  its  place  in  the  grave  inquiry  as  to 
what  national  policy  should  be  adopted 
towards  these  islands  ;  but  there  is  one 
sheaf  of  fine  wheat  outranking  them 
all,  to  which  all  must  make  obeisance, 
— it  is  the  law  of  our  duty  towards  our 


10  PKEFACE. 

neighbor.  In  the  Christian  sense  the 
Filipino  is  now  our  neighbor ;  and  it  is 
our  duty  to  treat  him  not  as  one  from 
whom  we  seek  to  realize  a  selfish  profit, 
but  as  a  man  whose  rights  of  every 
kind  we  are  bound  to  respect,  and 
whose  welfare  in  due  subordination  to 
the  law  of  our  own  being  we  must  first 
consider.  Many  and  strong  have  been 
those  voices  raised  among  us  in  con- 
tradiction of  this  idea.  We  have  been 
told  that  we  shall  keep  or  cast  off  these 
islands,  according  as  we  may  decide 
that  they  will  or  will  not  be  profitable 
to  us,  and  that  we  shall  make  as  much 
gain  out  of  them  as  possible.  But  this 
is  the  cry  of  the  speculator,  not  of  the 
American  people.  The  final  verdict 
of  the  people,  it  may  confidently  be 
believed,  will  be  in  favor  of  justice 
and  right.  When  they  know  the  full 
truth,  then  they  will  act,  and  their 
judgment  will  be  substantially  just. 
These  pages  have  been  written,  and 


PREFACE.  11 

now  are  presented  to  the  public,  in  tlie 
earnest  hope  that  they  may,  in  some 
small  measure,  contribute  towards  that 
end,  and  at  least  help  some  readers  to 
an  understanding  of  what  are  the  real 
facts  of  this  case,  and  what  are  the 
great  fundamental  principles  by  which 
the  facts,  when  known,  should  be  in- 
terpreted. 

A  word  at  the  conclusion  of  this 
preface  may  be  pardoned  the  author  in 
explanation  of  his  past  training  and 
place  in  life  which  have  led  him  to 
attempt  even  this  light  task.  Many 
years  have  been  passed  by  him  in  close 
study  of  the  American  Indian,  and  of 
the  relations  of  the  government  towards 
its  wards.  This  work  has  not  been 
theoretical  only,  but  concerned  with 
the  highly  practical  phases  of  Indian 
protection  and  education.  It  is  work 
which  would  naturally  lead  to  an  un- 
derstanding of  those  sound  principles 
which  must  form  the  enduring  basis 


12  PREFACE. 

of  practical  policy,  and  wliicli  would 
tend  to  create  in  the  minds  of  those 
engaged  in  it  some  comprehension  of 
the  ideas  and  temper  of  mind  of  an 
alien  race.  If  the  writer  has  learned 
one  lesson  from  such  an  experience,  it 
is  that  such  problems  will  not  yield  to 
the  arbitrary  commands  of  force.  That 
sympathy  which  enables  the  stronger 
to  put  himself  in  the  place  of  the 
weaker  man,  and  so  to  appreciate  his 
feelings  and  his  difficulties, — to  see 
things  for  the  moment  from  his  point  of 
view, — is  necessary  to  solve  them.  The 
spirit  of  the  American  people  will 
surely  feel  eventually  the  breath  of 
this  sympathy.  When  it  does,  war  in 
Luzon  will  give  way  to  peace,  and  the 
unjust  claims  of  a  right  on  our  part  to 
subjugate  will  be  replaced  by  a  recog- 
nition of  Filipino  independence,  and 
our  willingness  to  aid  the  islanders 
in  establishing  their  own  government. 

Geemantown,  Philadelphia, 
July,  1900. 


THE   OTHER 
MAN'S  COUNTRY 

$ 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  author's  purpose  is  to  present 
in  this  chapter,  as  briefly  as  would 
seem  to  be  consistent  with  a  clear  un- 
derstanding of  the  subject,  an  histori- 
cal sketch  of  the  last  insurrection  of 
the  Filipinos  against  Spanish  rule,  and 
of  the  subsequent  relations  of  the 
United  States  with  the  islands. 

In  order  to  understand  the  wrong 
done  by  the  United  States  to  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Philippines,  it  is  necessary 
to  sketch  briefly  the  facts  relating  to 
our  war  with  Cuba,  and  the  recent  past 

13 


14      THE   OTHER    MAn's    COUNTRY. 

history  of  the  Filipino  insurrection 
against  the  inconceivably  tyrannous 
and  corrupt  government  of  Spain. 

Various  currents  of  influence  run- 
ning swiftly,  finally  uniting  into  an 
irresistible  torrent,  precipitated  our 
war  with  Spain.  Some  of  those  cur- 
rents were  pure,  others  turbid.  It  is 
unnecessary  now  to  distinguish  between 
them  further  than  to  say  that  one 
strong  popular  current  was  pure.  The 
nation  demanded  that  Cuba  should  be 
free,  and  that  the  hopeless  rule  of  the 
mother  country  no  longer  should  con- 
tinue fostering  a  dry  rot  of  corruption 
that  had  eaten  Spain's  political  fabric 
for  centuries,  and  which  she  was  pow- 
erless to  cure.  Those  under  her  bad 
colonial  dominion  were  suffering  not 
from  her  cruel  sword  alone,  but 
from  an  arrested  moral  and  intellectual 
growth  which  her  rule  entailed. 

The  author  fully  believes  we  might 
have  freed  Cuba  by  continued  moral 


THE   OTHER    MAn's    COUNTRY.       15 

pressure,  for  attempting  wliicli  Presi- 
dent McKinley  is  to  be  commended, 
and  so  have  won  for  ourselves,  and  for 
her,  a  far  greater  good  than  we  ob- 
tained by  war.  Had  we  been  more 
advanced  in  true  civilization,  so  as  to 
have  exercised  greater  self-restraint 
when  tempted  to  revenge  by  the  loss  of 
the  "  Maine,"  it  is  fair  to  assume  that 
we  could  have  obtained  Cuba's  freedom 
without  war.  Such  a  crown  of  national 
glory  for  our  brow  may  come  out  of 
the  mist  of  the  future.  Nevertheless, 
we  freed  the  island,  bringing  to  her 
the  blessing  and  to  ourselves  the  inev- 
itable curse  of  war.  But  we  did  one 
thing,  however,  distinctly  good.  We 
planted  ourselves  nobly  before  the 
world  in  the  righteous  purpose  of  that 
act :  *'  Cuba  is,  and  of  right  ought  to 
be,  free  and  independent,"  we  said. 
And  in  so  speaking  we  used  the  very 
words  of  our  own  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence.    We  gave  a  noble  prom- 


16      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

ise  through  which  the  voice  of  Adams, 
Washington,  Lincoln,  and  many  other 
of  our  patriots  spoke,  whatever  we 
may  do  later  to  mar  it  or  to  break  it. 
And  surely  the  President  spoke  at  the 
bidding  of  his  good  angel  when  he 
said,  "  I  speak  not  of  forcible  annex- 
ation, for  that,  according  to  our  code 
of  morals,  would  be  criminal  aggres- 
sion." That  truly  American  word, 
coming  from  the  lips  of  the  country's 
Chief  Magistrate,  like  the  shots  of  Lex- 
ington fired  for  liberty  on  an  April 
morning  of  the  last  century,  echoed 
round  the  world.  In  the  far  East 
some  Malay  patriots  struggling  for  the 
freedom  of  their  own  land  heard  it, 
and  took  heart  again. 

Just  at  this  time,  when  Spain's  co- 
lonial clutch  tightened  in  death  agony 
in  Cuba,  a  similar  state  of  affairs  ex- 
isted in  the  Philippines.  Spain  had 
held  these  islands,  like  those  of  the 
West  Indies,  more  or  less  securely  for 


THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.      17 

tliree  centuries.*  Their  inhabitants 
number  approximately  eight  million 
souls.  These  peoj^le  may,  for  practical 
purposes,  be  roughly  divided  into  two 
groups, — Mohammedans  and  Chris- 
tians. The  Mohammedans,  under 
Spanish  policy,  fierce,  savage,  intract- 
able, need  not  for  present  purposes  be 
much  considered.  Spain  never  had 
much  hold  upon  them,  and  never 
really  subdued  them.  Until  very  re- 
cently, when  modern  repeating  arms 
gave  the  Spaniards  an  advantage,  they 
indulged  with  but  little  restraint  in 
their  piratical  incursions.  But  the 
Tagalogs  and  Visayos  inhabiting  Lu- 
zon, Panay,  Negros,  Leyte,  Cebu,  and 
other  northern  islands,  they  had  fairly 

*  ''Maghallanes,  or  Magellan,  discovered 
and  assumed  possession  of  the  Philippine 
Islands  in  the  name  of  Charles  I.  of  Spain, 
landing  at  Cebu,  April  7,  1521."— "The 
Philippine  Islands,"  by  John  Foreman, 
F.E.G.S. 

2 


18      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

well  assimilated.  They  have  absorbed 
Christianity  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
form,  and  in  many  cases  are  well  ad- 
vanced in  the  arts  of  civilization. 
These  mixed  Malays  are  a  mild,  well- 
disposed  people  for  the  most  part, 
though  characterized  by  various  weak- 
nesses and  peculiarities.  They  culti- 
vate the  fields  patiently,  raising  sugar, 
tobacco,  and  hemp,  with  their  slow- 
moving  buffaloes,  whom  they  well  un- 
derstand. They  have  many  well-built 
towns,  with  well-kept  streets  and  good 
houses,  some  of  the  latter  being  ele- 
gantly finished  with  finely  carved  na- 
tive woods.  The  better  classes  have 
absorbed  much  of  Spanish  civilization 
in  their  three-century-old  apprentice- 
ship. They  show  extraordinary  talent 
for  music.  The  church  of  the  mother 
land  of  Spain  is  much  in  evidence 
among  them.  It  brought  to  them  its 
blessings,  but  also  incidentally  a  terri- 
ble curse.     The  mendicant  orders — the 


THE   OTHER    MAN's    COUNTRY.       19 

Franciscans,  the  Dominicans,  tlie  Au- 
gustinians,  no  longer  poor  preachers, 
thinking  only  of  serving,  blessing, 
loving  men,  but  grown  rich,  domineer- 
ing, and,  in  many  cases,  sadly  corrupt 
in  morals — ate  up  the  land.  They 
added  field  to  field,  house  to  house,  till 
there  was  but  little  space  left  for  the  peo- 
ple. They  charged  enormous  rents  to 
those  who  to  put  bread  in  their  mouths 
must  till  their  fields.  Just  such  cause 
for  revolt  existed  as  that  which  in 
France  aroused  the  storm  of  the  great 
revolution ;  the  people  taxed  without 
mercy,  the  clergy  untaxed,  reaping  the 
benefit.  Had  the  Christ-like  St.  Fran- 
cis of  Assisi  been  endowed  with  the  gift 
of  prophetic  vision  to  see  this  gross  de- 
generacy of  his  followers,  more  than 
ever  would  he  have  felt  the  soundness 
of  his  intuition  which  made  him  set  his 
face  like  flint  against  the  acquisition 
of  any  property  by  his  order.  His 
beloved  fair  Lady  of  Poverty  would 


20      THE   OTHER   MAn's    COUNTRY. 

have  seemed  to  him  more  beautiful 
than  ever.  He  would  have  been  hor- 
rified with  the  knowledge  of  the  cruel 
rapacity  of  monks  bearing  his  name, 
who,  nevertheless,  grossly  oppressed 
the  Philippine  peasantry  in  rents  and 
taxes, — the  very  poor  whom  St.  Fran- 
cis founded  his  order  to  serve.* 

*  The  cardinal  idea  embodied  in  the  rule 
first  promulgated  by  St.  Francis  for  his  fol- 
lowers is  described  in  Paul  Sabatier's  ''  Life 
of  St.  Francis  d'Assisi"  as  follows  : 

''One  day,  it  was  probably  the  24th  of 
February,  1209,  the  feast  of  S.  Matthias, 
mass  was  celebrated  at  Portionculo.  When 
the  priest  turned  towards  him  to  read  the 
words  of  Jesus,  Francis  felt  himself  seized  by 
a  profound  disquiet.  He  saw  the  priest  no 
longer ;  it  was  Jesus  himself,  the  Crucified 
of  St.  Damien,  who  said  to  him,  'Every- 
where upon  your  way  preach  and  say,  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  nigh.  Heal  the  sick, 
cleanse  the  lepers,  cast  out  demons.  Freely 
you  have  received,  freely  give.  Take 
neither  gold,  nor  silver,  nor  money  in  your 
girdle ;    neither  bag,   nor  two  cloaks,  nor 


THE   OTHER   MAn's    COUNTRY.       21 

Perhaps  tlie  most  deep-seated  cause 
of  Filipino  insurrection  against  Span- 
ish authority  was  this  unchecked 
growth  of  ignorant,  cruel,  and  oppres- 
sive ecclesiasticism.  It  was  this  which 
weighed  most  heavily  upon  the  people. 
It  made  the  mere  question  of  gaining 
a  livelihood  difficult,  but  esj^ecially 
did  it  strangle  intellectual  and  moral 
growth.  It  not  only  oppressed  the 
Filipinos,  but  it  overawed  and  domi- 
nated the  Sj)anish  authorities.  It  was 
the  power  of  the  mendicant  orders 
which  drove  out  the  just  Conde  de 
Caspe,  and  later  the  well-disposed  and 


sandals,  nor  staif,for  the  workman  is  worthy 
of  his  food.' 

''These  words  fell  upon  him  as  a  revela- 
tion ;  as  a  reply  from  heaven  to  all  his 
sighs  and  preoccupation  of  spirit.  'This 
is  what  I  want,'  he  exclaimed.  'This  it  is 
I  seek,  and  from  this  day  I  will  apply  my- 
self with  all  my  strength  to  put  this  into 
practice.' " 


22      THE    OTHER    MAn's    COUNTRY. 

clement  Blanco,  which  stimulated  and 
supported  the  frightful  atrocities  of 
the  cruel  Polavieja  during  the  revolu- 
tion of  1896.  Archbishop  Nozaleda,  a 
Spanish  monk  of  the  Dominican  or- 
der, was  a  leader  in  urging  wholesale 
and  often  wholly  unjustifiable  arrests, 
which  were  succeeded  by  the  torture 
and  execution  of  hundreds  of  persons.* 
It  is  difficult  for  a  mind  reared  in 
the  freedom  and  culture  of  modern 
Europe,  or  still  freer  America,  to  re- 
alize the  horrible  excesses  and  actual 
mediaeval  cruelties  which  were  com- 
mitted in  the  prisons  of  Manila  and 
elsewhere  in  the  islands  upon  Filipino 
insurgents,  or  those  accused  of  being 
in  league  with  them,  during  the  revo- 
lution of  1896.  The  actual  story  of 
these  things  as  it  is  unfolded,  not  only 
from  Filipino  sources,  but  from  the 
Spanish  archives  of  Manila,  is  like  a 

*  See  Appendix,  Note  I. 


THE   OTHER    MAN's   COTJNTEY.       23 

scene  evoked  from  the  long-buried 
and  forgotten  past  in  the  middle  ages. 
Indeed,  the  only  intelligible  interpre- 
tation of  events  which  cast  shame  on 
the  name  of  Spanish  authority  and 
Spanish  Christianity  is  found  by  re- 
flecting that  affairs  in  the  Philippines, 
just  previous  to  the  battle  of  Manila, 
were  controlled  by  ideas  and  forces 
which  existed  generally  in  Europe 
previous  to  the  reformation, — ideas 
which  slowly  retreated  before  the 
dawn  of  the  new  learning  and  the 
liberation  of  the  individual  conscience. 
But  not  until  the  fierce  storm  of  the 
French  Revolution  shook  Europe  did 
many  of  these  mediaeval  ideas  and 
abuses  perish,  leaving  the  soil  free  to 
bring  forth  better  growth. 

An  instance  of  the  barbarous  and 
inhuman  methods  practised  by  Spain 
against  the  Filipinos  is  given  in  an 
excellent  article  by  Lieutenant-Com- 
mander C.  G.  Calkins,  U.S.N.,  which 


24      THE   OTHER    MAN's    COUNTRY. 

appeared  in  Harper's  Montlily  for  Au- 
gust, 1899.     It  is  as  follows  : 

''In  Blanco's  time  only  two  batches  of 
unimportant  rebels  were  shot  in  Manila. 
Other  prisoners  perished,  however.  Span- 
ish chronicles  relate  that  some  fifty  odd  died 
over  night  in  the  '  asphyxiating  dungeons'  of 
Fort  Santiago  at  this  season.  The  details 
of  this  Black  Hole  of  Manila  may  be  merci- 
fully omitted.  The  inquisitorial  system  of 
military  justice  requires  strict  incommunica- 
cion  for  the  'necessary  diligences'  in  the 
manufacture  of  evidence.  This  was  secured 
in  the  thronged  prison  of  Bilibid  by  attach- 
ing five  prisoners  by  the  foot,  star-wise 
around  each  pillar,  with  the  sentry  ready 
to  shoot  the  first  man  attempting  to  speak. 
The  jail-bird  historian  seems  to  rejoice  in 
enumerating  men  of  position  and  educa- 
tion confined  in  this  position." 

The  Philippine  Islands,  where  Span- 
ish rule  was  complete  and  undisputed, 
furnished  an  asylum  for  ecclesiastical 
despotism  and  rapacity,  and  for  a 
slightly  less  baneful  civil  power  which 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.       25 

elsewhere  had  long  vanished  from  the 
modern  world.  As  the  glacier  of  re- 
mote mountain  fastnesses  is  a  survival 
of  the  ice  age, — the  last  record  of  con- 
ditions which  once  existed  over  vast 
areas, — so  what  lived  on  in  Luzon, 
and  other  northern  Philippine  Islands, 
of  brutal  absolutism,  of  unbridled 
tyranny,  and  terribly  cruel  punish- 
ments, was  a  unique  survival  of  those 
distorted  ideas  which  once  found  their 
greatest  power  to  afflict  humanity  in 
Spain,  and  were  more  or  less  general 
over  Europe.  But,  bad  as  things  were, 
they  were  not  quite  hopeless.  Spain 
brought  the  comforts  and  adornments 
of  her  civilization  to  the  islands,  and 
Latin  Christianity  had  its  brighter  and 
better  side.  Many  of  the  people  cer- 
tainly gained  much  benefit  from  both 
sources.  It  was  growth  up  to  a  certain 
point, — intellectual,  moral,  spiritual, — 
and  then  the  stoppage  of  further 
growth.     The  native  plant,  under  the 


26      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

opportunities  offered  it,  the  meagre 
nourishment,  grudgingly  bestowed, 
craved  further  development,  but  was 
denied  it,  while  all  the  time  the  cruel 
parasite  preyed  upon  its  slight  vitality. 
It  should  also  be  remembered  that  the 
severe  condemnation,  justly  made  upon 
the  cruel  bigotry  and  rapacity  of  that 
j)Ower  which  the  mendicant  orders  ex- 
ercised, does  not  at  all  apply  to  the 
order  of  Jesuits,  who  did  much  for  the 
education,  enlightenment,  and  general 
improvement  of  the  peojDle. 

But  into  these  anomalous  conditions 
were  gradually  introduced  fresh  ele- 
ments that  acted  as  powerful  stimu- 
lants to  the  quick  growth  of  new  life. 
The  results  were  of  necessity  tragic. 
To  escape  a  cataclysm  was  im|)Ossible. 
Many  of  the  more  intelligent  young 
Filij^inos,  sprung  from  families  wealthy 
enough  to  grant  their  children  such 
advantages,  found  their  way  into  the 
fresh,  pure  air  of  the  outer  world, — 


THE   OTHER    MAn's    COUNTRY.       27 

the  world  of  modern  ambitions,  of 
activity,  of  healthful  intellectual  fric- 
tion, of  learning,  science,  and  art. 
Some  studied  in  the  University  of 
Madrid  or  graduated  from  other  uni- 
versities of  Europe.  Among  this  class 
was  Jose  Rizal,  a  man  of  marked 
talent,  ambitious  for  his  own  advance- 
ment, but  still  further  moved  by  high, 
pure  aspirations  for  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  his  opi^ressed  countrymen, 
and  for  the  prosecution  of  reforms,  so 
greatly  demanded  in  the  islands. 
Rizal,  upon  his  return  to  Manila,  and 
after  having  concluded  his  medical 
studies  abroad,  was  the  object  of  the 
malignant  hatred  of  the  friars.  They 
instinctively  felt  that  he  represented  a 
force  hostile  to  their  interests.  He 
was  arrested,  and  ultimately  sentenced 
to  a  four  years'  term  of  banishment  in 
the  island  of  Mindanao.  There  was 
however,  nothing  against  him  which 
would  have  had  the  slightest  weight 


28      THE    OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY. 

in  a  free  country.  His  efforts  were 
confined  to  moderate  and  reasonable 
23ropositions  of  reform,  such  as  relief 
for  his  countrymen  from  the  ruinous 
taxation  of  the  friars,  and  an  inquiry 
into  the  title-deeds  of  their  establish- 
ments. But  his  attitude,  moderate 
though  it  was,  sufficed  to  make  the 
friars  feel  that  he  was  a  dangerous 
enemy.  During  his  banishment  Eizal 
was  the  object  of  constant  visits  from 
persons  needing  his  professional  ser- 
vices. Among  these  jnlgrims  came  an 
American  gentleman  from  Hong  Kong, 
accompanied  by  his  daughter,  on  whose 
care  the  father  was  dependent.  His 
eyesight  was  too  far  gone  to  render  a 
cure  possible.  Eizal  and  this  young 
American  girl  fell  in  love  with  one 
another,  and  were  subsequently  mar- 
ried. The  union,  so  far  as  this  world 
is  concerned,  was  brief  and  its  ending 
tragic.  Eizal,  finding  that  the  hos- 
tility of  the  friars  towards  him  was 


THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.       29 

SO  great  that  his  life  would  not  be  safe 
in  the  islands,  obtained  permission 
from  General  Blanco  to  enter  the 
medical  force  of  the  Spanish  army, 
for  service  in  Cuba.  He  had  already 
started  for  his  destination  when  the 
vessel  on  which  he  had  embarked 
stoj^ped  en  route  at  Manila.  There 
Rizal,  who  was  the  idol  of  the  Fili- 
pino populace,  was  made  the  object  of 
a  great  demonstration.  This,  coming, 
as  it  did,  at  the  same  time  with  various 
outrages  that  had  been  committed  by 
the  peojDle,  but  for  which  Kizal  was  in  no 
way  responsible,  led  to  his  arrest,  trial, 
condemnation  on  false  charges,  and 
finally  to  his  execution.  He  was  shot 
on  the  Lunetta,  in  Manila,  at  dawn, 
December  30,  1896.  He  died  a  true 
martyr  to  liberty,  if  any  such  are  to 
be  found  in  the  world's  history.*  His 
widow  entered  the  insurgent  ranks  and 

*  See  Appendix,  Note  II. 


30      THE   OTHEE    MAn's    COUNTRY. 

fought  bravely  as  any  soldier  could 
have  done  against  the  Spaniards.  It 
was  from  such  tragic  events  that  the 
spirit  of  nationality  and  independence 
was  born  among  the  Filipinos. 

Alongside  of  the  martyred  Rizal,  as 
a  hero  in  the  jDopular  mind,  stands 
Emilio  Aguinaldo.  Aguinaldo  was  the 
son  of  a  captain  in  the  Spanish  army. 
All  reliable  testimony  points  to  him  as 
a  man  of  honest  and  sincere  charac- 
ter, deeply  patriotic,  indifferent  to  the 
temptations  of  wealth.  Although  not 
highly  educated,  as  Kizal,  his  ability 
and  force  of  character  were  generally 
conceded.  Like  Rizal,  he  seems  to 
have  been  at  all  times  earnestly  op- 
posed to  cruel  treatment  of  prisoners 
and  non-combatants.  This  is  the  more 
remarkable  considering  the  frightful 
atrocities — some  of  them  too  horrible 
in  their  nature  to  be  written  down — 
which  were  perpetrated  by  the  Span- 
iards.    The  struggles  of  the  Filipino 


THE   OTHER    MAN  S    COUNTRY.       61 

insurgents  in  the  field  during  the  up- 
rising of  1896  need  not  be  given  here 
in  detail.  They  occasioned  much 
slaughter  of  the  natives  by  the  Span- 
iards, and  witnessed  some  successes 
gained  by  the  natives. 

Aguinaldo  became  the  principal  fig- 
ure of  the  revolution.  His  name,  as 
one  of  our  war  correspondents  has 
since  said,  was  one  "  to  conjure  with." 
But  the  revolution  finally  exhausted 
itself,  and  was  ended  for  a  time  by  the 
promise  of  certain  reforms  by  General 
Kivera  on  the  part  of  Spain,  and  the 
withdrawal  from  the  islands  of  Agui- 
naldo and  seventeen  of  his  associates. 
Kivera  promised  to  the  banished  in- 
surgent chiefs  eight  hundred  thousand 
dollars  in  silver,  the  full  amount  of 
which,  he  stated  in  his  report  to  the 
Spanish  Government,  he  did  not  find 
it  convenient  to  pay.  Nor  were  the 
reforms  that  had  been  guaranteed  ever 
carried  out.     This  transaction  has  been 


32      THE    OTHER    MAn's   COUNTRY. 

alluded  to  as  involving  a  "bribe  for 
peace ;"  but  tlie  jDlirase  is  misleading, 
and  does  an  injustice  to  Aguinaldo  and 
liis  associates.  The  money  so  received 
cannot  be  justly  considered  a  bribe. 
It  was  not  used  personally  by  the  lead- 
ers who  received  it,  nor  did  it  involve 
the  betrayal  of  a  cause.*     These  funds 

*  Lieutenant- Commander  Calkins  speaks 
of  tliis  transaction  as  follows  : 

"The  treaty  of  Biaknabato  was  a  secret 
compact,  and  no  attested  copy  thereof  is 
available  for  discussion,  but  its  general  pro- 
visions are  well  known.  Aguinaldo  was  to 
disband  Ms  forces  and  to  give  up  his  arms  ; 
he  and  other  leaders  were  to  go  into  exile, 
pledged  to  refrain  from  rebellion  against 
Spain.  .  .  .  The  Governor- General  prom- 
ised complete  amnesty  and  a  programme 
of  reforms,  including  most  of  those  de- 
manded by  the  rebels,  the  expulsion  of  the 
friars  among  them.  Three  successive  Gov- 
ernors-General were  thus  committed  to  this 
measure,  but  tJie  rehelUous  orders  were  stiU 
unconquered.  [Editor's  italics.]  Other  stip- 
ulations provided  for  representative  councils 


THE    OTHER    MAN's    COUNTRY.       33 

were  deposited  in  bank  in  Hong  Kong, 
and  only  released  and  used  for  the 
purchase  of  arms  when  the  Spanish 
authorities  had  failed  to  carry  out  the 
reforms  promised,  and  when  Admiral 
Dewey  and  Consul  -  General  Pratt, 
acting  apparently  under  instructions 
from,  or  a  tacit  understanding  with, 
the  United  States  Government  in 
Washington,  entered  upon  an  agree- 
ment with  Aguinaldo  and  his  associates 
to  lift  again  the  standard  of  revolt  in 
the  archijDelago  and  drive  out  the  fee- 
ble Spanish  rule  still  existing. 

In  support  of  this  assertion,   it  is 


and  for  the  payment  of  a  sum  of  money, — 
$1,600,000  seems  the  figure  promised, — for 
distribution  among  the  troops  and  officers 
of  the  insurrection. 

''Under  the  provision  of  this  treaty, 
Aguinaldo  and  thirty-six  other  leaders  were 
transported  to  Hong  Kong,  and  there  an 
instalment  of  the  i)romised  fund  was  placed 
to  their  account." 

3 


34      THE    OTHER    MAN's    COUNTEY. 

interesting   to   read   a   message  from 

Consul   Williams   to   Secretary  Day, 

dated  Manila,  May  24,  1898.  It  is 
as  follows : 

'^To-day  I  executed  a  power  of  attorney 
whereby  General  Aguinaldo  releases  to  liis 
attorneys  in  fact  four  liundred  thousand 
dollars,  now  in  bank  in  Hong  Kong,  so  that 
money  therefrom  can  pay  for  three  thou- 
sand stands  of  arms  bought  there  and 
expected  here  to-morrow." 

Consul  Williams  wrote  Mr.  Moore, 
of  the  State  Department,  July  18, 
1898,  from  Hong  Kong : 

''There  has  been  a  systematic  attempt  to 
blacken  the  name  of  Aguinaldo  and  his 
cabinet,  on  account  of  the  questionable 
terms  of  their  surrender  to  Spanish  forces 
a  year  ago  this  mouth.  It  has  been  said  that 
they  sold  their  country  for  gold;  but  this  has 
been  conclusively  disproved  [Editor's  italics] 
not  only  by  their  own  statements,  but  by 
the  speech  of  the  late  Governor- General 
Eivera  in  the  Spanish  Senate,  June  11, 1898. 
He  said  that  Aguinaldo  undertook  to  sub- 


THE    OTHER    MAn's    COUNTRY.       35 

mit  if  the  Spanisli  Government  would  give 
a  certain  sum  to  tlie  widows  and  orplians 
of  the  insurgents.  He  then  admits  that 
only  a  tenth  jDart  of  this  sum  was  ever 
given  to  Aguinaldo,  and  that  other  promises 
made  he  did  not  find  it  convenient  to  keep. 
.  .  .  Only  four  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
Mexican,  was  ever  placed  to  their  credit  in 
the  banks." 

Consul  Wildman  gives  this  furtlier 
testimony  as  to  the  behavior  of  Agui- 
naldo after  he  had  returned  to  Luzon 
under  Admiral  Dewey's  orders  to  carry 
on  war  against  the  Spaniards  : 

"He,  of  course,  organized  a  govern- 
ment of  which  he  was  dictator,  an  abso- 
lutely necessary  step  if  he  hoped  to 
maintain  control  over  the  natives,  and  from 
that  date  until  the  present  time  he  has  been 
uninterruptedly  successful  in  the  field,  and 
dignified  and  just  as  the  head  of  his  gov- 
ernment. .  .  .  He  has  been  watched  very 
closely  by  Admiral  Dewey,  Consul  Wil- 
liams, and  his  own  Junta  here  in  Hong 
Kong,  and  nothing  of  any  moment  has  oc- 
curred which  would  lead  any  one  to  believe 


36      THE    OTHER    MAn's    COUNTEY. 

that  lie  was  not  carrying  out  to  tlie  letter 
tlie  promises  made  to  me  in  this  consulate." 
"  The  insurgents  are  fighting  for  freedom,  for 
freedom  from  the  Spanish  rule,  and  rely  upon 
the  well-hiown  sense  of  justice  that  controls 
all  the  actions  of  our  government  as  to  their 
future.''''     (Editor's  italics.) 

After  the  deportation  of  the  insur- 
gent chiefs,  and  before  the  destruction 
of  the  Spanish  fleet  by  Admiral 
Dewey,  which  occurred  May  1,  1898, 
spasmodic  rebellion  again  broke  out 
in  Luzon  and  other  islands.  This 
brief  j)eriod  was  not  one  of  unbroken 
peace.  But  for  this  continuance  of 
trouble,  Spanish  chronic  incapacity, 
and  inability  to  adopt  any  settled 
methods  of  conciliation  and  reform, 
were  to  blame.  Some  seventy  Filipino 
sailors,  in  a  resort  in  Manila,  discuss- 
ing politics  too  boisterously,  were  shot 
down  indiscriminately  by  the  j)olice. 
This  outrage  is  described  by  Mr.  John 
Foreman  as  follows  :  ' 


THE   OTHER    MAN's   COUNTEY.       37 

'^On  the  25tli  of  March,  the  tragedy  of 
the  Calle  de  Camba  took  place.  This  street 
lies  just  off  the  Calle  de  San  Fernando,  in  Bi- 
nondo,  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  river. 
In  a  house  frequented  by  seafaring  men  a 
large  number  of  Visayan  sailors  had  assem- 
bled, and  were,  naturally,  discussing  the 
topics  of  the  day  with  the  warmth  of  ex- 
pression and  phraseology  peculiar  to  their 
race,  when  a  passer-by,  who  overheard  their 
talk,  informed  the  police.  The  Civil  Guard 
at  once  raided  the  premises,  accused  these 
sailors  of  conspiracy,  and,  without  waiting 
for  proof  or  refutation,  shot  down  all  who 
could  not  escape.  The  victims  of  this  out- 
rage numbered  over  seventy  ;  the  news  dis- 
mayed the  native  population  ;  the  fact  could 
no  longer  be  doubted  that  a  reign  of  terror- 
ism and  revenge  had  been  initiated  with 
impunity,  under  the  assumption  that  the  re- 
bellion was  broken  for  many  a  year  to  come. 
How  the  particulars  of  this  crime  were 
related  by  the  survivors  to  their  fellow-isl- 
anders we  cannot  know  ;  but  it  is  a  coinci- 
dental fact  that  only  now  the  flame  of  rebel- 
lion spread  to  the  southern  island  of  Cebu." 

It  is  not  necessary  even  to  sketch 
tlie  cruelties  and  excesses  which  were 


f^trOv  Cfiflt 


38      THE    OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY. 

committed  on  both  sides,  except  to 
note  that,  while  some  frightful  atroci- 
ties were  undoubtedly  indulged  in  by 
the  Filipino  rebels,  there  is  no  evi- 
dence from  any  source  which  does  not 
show  Aguinaldo  conducting  the  war 
humanely,  and  exerting  his  influence 
for  the  just  treatment  of  Spanish 
prisoners. 


CHAPTER  II. 

And  now  the  United  States  enters 
U230U  this  troubled  scene.  The  Presi- 
dent has  availed  himself  of  many 
oj^portunities  afforded  in  messages  to 
Congress,  public  speeches,  and  the 
press,  firmly  to  implant  the  conviction 
in  the  mind  of  the  country  that  the 
Philippine  Islands  "  fell  into  our  lap" 
unexpectedly,  and  by  a  direct  act  of 
Providence.  The  sudden  and  start- 
ling nature  of  the  events  through 
which  we  were  passing,  the  reverent 
spirit  of  the  mass  of  our  people,  and 
the  authoritative  source  of  this  state- 
ment, caused  it  to  be  generally  ac- 
cepted without  question.  But  the  dis- 
covery of  hidden  testimony,  and  the 
grouping  of  isolated  facts  which  at 
first  seemed  to  be  without  special  sig- 

39 


40      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTKY. 

nificance,  has  greatly  modified  this 
view.  Evidence  has  since  come  to 
lic^ht  showino;  that  the  administration 
must  have  known  in  advance  that 
the  Philippine  archipelago  would  fall 
into  our  lap  upon  the  capture  of  Ma- 
nila. It  [is  now  clear  that  an  event 
which  the  President  has  ascribed  to  a 
mysterious  dispensation  of  Providence 
— an  event  quite  unexpected  by  us — 
was  brought  about  through  the  ma- 
turing of  plans  that  had  been  set  on 
foot  and  approved  by  the  two  leading 
representatives  of  the  United  States  in 
the  Orient,  Admiral  Dewey  and  Con- 
sul-General  Pratt.  This  is  a  startling 
discovery  for  trusting  minds  to  make. 
The  administration's  ways,  truly,  are 
more  mysterious  than  those  which  the 
administration  has  ascribed  to  Provi- 
dence ! 

President  McKinley  in  a  speech 
delivered  in  Boston,  February  16, 
1899,  said : 


THE   OTHER   MAn's    COUNTRY.      41 

"  The  Philippines  were  intrusted  to 
our  hands  by  the  Providence  of  God. 
It  is  a  trust  we  have  not  sought." 

Admiral  Dewey  cabled  to  the  Navy 
Department  from  Hong  Kong,  March 
31,  1898,— 

"There  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  with  Manila  taken,  or  even  block- 
aded, the  rest  of  the  islands  would  fall 
either  to  the  insurgents  or  to  our- 
selves." 

This  despatch  was  published  for  the 
first  time  January  14,  1900,  having 
been  sent  to  the  Senate  by  special  re- 
quest. Since  the  authorities  had  this 
despatch  in  their  possession,  they  must 
have  known  that  by  the  fall  of  Manila 
the  islands  would  become  our  property, 
especially  if  we  prevented  the  insur- 
gents from  holding  them.  This  dis- 
poses of  the  President's  assertion  that 
they  came  to  us  unexpectedly,  since 
Dewey's  despatch  was  sent  one  month 
before  the  battle  of  Manila. 


42      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

The  arrangement  made  with  Agui- 
naldo  by  Consul-General  Pratt  at  a 
series  of  secret  meetings  in  Singapore 
on  and  near  AjDril  24,  1898,  whereby 
the  Filipinos,  under  Aguinaldo's  lead, 
were  to  make  war  against  the  Spanish 
rule  in  the  islands,  was  formulated 
with  sufficient  precision  and  clearness 
to  leave  no  doubt  as  to  its  meaning.  We 
are  left  in  no  doubt  as  to  what  advan- 
tage Aguinaldo  and  his  joeople  expected 
in  return  for  their  service,  and  for  the 
great  risks  they  ran.  The  statement 
of  this  understanding  now  forms  a 
part  of  the  record  of  the  State  De- 
partment. Aguinaldo  said  he  would 
be  contented  with  the  same  terms  that 
had  been  offered  Cuba,  The  terms 
offered  Cuba  were  defined  and  com- 
prised in  a  declaration  setting  forth 
the  right  of  the  Cubans  to  liberty. 
This  involved,  of  course,  a  temporary 
intervention  on  our  joart,  which  was 
necessary  for  the  pacification  of  the 


THE    OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.      43 

island,  before  the  fulfilment  of  our 
promise.  Aguinaldo  clearly  stated 
during  this  meeting  that  he  expected 
"  indej)endence."* 

Mr.  John  Barrett,  in  an  article  on 
"The  Truth  of  the  Philippine  Situa- 
tion," j^ublished  in  the  Revieiv  of  Re- 
views for  July,  1899,  gives  an  interest- 
ing account  of  how  well  Aguinaldo 
kept  his  pledge  to  organize  a  pro- 
visional government  for  the  Philipj^ine 
Islands,  maintain  order,  discipline,  etc. 
He  says : 

"After  Ms  arrival  at  Cavite  lie  organized 
witli  wonderful  rapidity  a  provisional  gov- 
ernment, and  in  a  short  time  had  an  army 
which  -vvas  capturing  Si^anish  outposts  with 
the  frequency  of  trained  regulars.  "Within 
thirty  days  after  his  arrival  he  had  taken 
over  2000  Spanish  prisoners,  and  had  prac- 
tically gained  control  of  all  the  country  of 
Luzon  outside  of  Manila,  leaving  that  city 

f '  *  For  detailed  statement,  see  Appendix, 
Note  ni. 


44      THE   OTHER   MAN's    COUNTEY. 

to  our  mercy.  During  the  latter  part  of 
May  and  all  of  June,  before  the  arrival  of 
our  troops,  his  relations  with  our  forces  were 
most  agreeable.  There  seemed  to  be  no 
friction.  There  was  perfect  understand- 
ing between  Admiral  Dewey  and  himself, 
although  the  former  was  careful  to  avoid 
formal  recognition.  No  matter  what  esti- 
mate may  be  made  of  Aguinaldo's  personal 
character,  there  is  no  reason  why  truthful 
credit  should  not  be  given  for  what  he  act- 
ually did.  Coming  to  Manila  at  nearly  the 
same  time,  I  witnessed  the  beginning  as  well 
as  the  development  of  his  authority.  Such 
able  newspaper  men  as  Mr.  Stickney,  Mr. 
Harden,  Mr.  McCutcheon,  and  Mr.  Egan, 
who  also  saw  what  happened  then,  will  con- 
firm my  simple  statement  of  factSj  as  will 
also  Consul  Williams. 

''The  impression  went  abroad  among  the 
masses  of  people  that  Aguinaldo  had  ar- 
rived to  establish  an  independent  govern- 
ment, and  that  the  Americans  would  assist 
him.  The  actual  working  of  his  govern- 
ment under  the  guns  of  our  ships  was  suffi- 
cient evidence  to  them  of  our  approval. 
From  one  end  of  Luzon  to  the  other  spread 
the  report  that  Gen.  Emilio  Aguinaldo,  the 
exiled  leader  of  the  former  revolution,  had 


THE   OTHEK    MAIf's   COUNTKY.      45 

returned  to  his  home  under  the  protection 
of  the  ships  of  a  nation  called  America, 
which  had  gone  to  yfur  "with  Spain  and 
would  give  them  freedom  and  iudeiDendence 
at  once.  These  influences  had  a  tremendous 
effect.  Before  Aguinaldo  had  been  in  Ca- 
vite  a  month  he  not  only  had  more  soldiers 
than  he  could  arm,  but  contributions  of 
large  sums  of  money,  with  unlimited 
amounts  of  rice  and  other  raw  food  supplies 
brought  in  by  the  people  for  the  support  of 
his  army. 

''The  government  which  was  organized 
by  Aguinaldo  at  Cavite  and  continued  first 
at  Bakoor  and  later  at  Malolos  developed 
into  a  much  more  elaborate  affair  than  its 
most  ^ardent  supporters  had  originally  ex- 
pected. By  the  middle  of  October,  1898, 
he  had  assembled  at  Malolos  a  congress 
of  100  men  who  would  compare  in  behavior, 
manner,  dress,  and  education  with  the  aver- 
age men  of  the  better  classes  of  other  Asiatic 
nations,  possibly  including  the  Japanese. 
These  men,  whose  sessions  I  repeatedly  at- 
tended, conducted  themselves  with  great 
decorum,  and  showed  a  knowledge  of  debate 
and  parliamentary  law  that  would  not  com- 
pare unfavorably  with  the  Japanese  Parlia- 


46       THE    OTHER    MAN's    COUNTRY. 

ment.  The  executive  portion  of  the  govern- 
ment was  made  np  of  a  ministry  of  bright 
men  who  seemed  to  understand  their  respec- 
tive positions.  Each  general  division  was 
subdivided  with  reference  to  practical  work. 
There  was  a  large  force  of  under  secretaries 
and  clerks,  who  appeared  to  be  kept  very- 
busy  with  routine  work. 

''The  army,  however,  of  Aguinaldo  was 
the  marvel  of  his  achievements.  He  had 
over  20  regiments  of  comparatively  well- 
organized,  well- drilled,  and  well-dressed 
soldiers,  carrying  modern  rifles  and  ammu- 
nition. I  saw  many  of  these  regiments 
executing  not  only  regimental  but  battalion 
and  company  drill  with  a  precision  that 
astonished  me.  Certainly  as  far  as  dress 
was  concerned  the  comparison  with  the 
uniform  of  our  soldiers  was  favorable  to 
the  Filipinos.  They  were  ofiicered  largely, 
except  in  the  higher  positions,  with  young 
men  who  were  ambitious  to  win  honors,  and 
were  not  merely  show  fighters.  The  people 
in  all  the  different  towns  took  great  pride 
in  this  army.  Nearly  every  family  had  a 
father,  son,  or  cousin  in  it.  Wherever  they 
went  they  aroused  enthusiasm  for  the  Fili- 
pino cause.  The  impression  made  upon 
the  inhabitants  of  the  interior  by  such  dis- 


THE    OTHER    MAN's   COUNTRY.      47 

plays  can  be  readily  appreciated.  Agui- 
naldo  and  his  principal  lieutenants  also 
made  frequent  visits  to  the  principal  towns, 
and  were  received  with  the  same  earnest- 
ness that  we  show  in  greeting  a  successful 
President. 

''Along  with  the  army  there  was  a  Eed 
Cross  association,  at  the  head  of  which 
were  Aguinaldo's  mother  and  wife.  There 
were  quartermaster  and  commissariat  de- 
partments which  were  well  equipped,  in 
view  of  the  lack  of  experience  of  the  men 
in  charge.  The  American  who  thinks  for 
a  moment  that  we  were  or  have  been  fight- 
ing a  disorganized  force  labors  under  great 
error.  It  would  be  difiicult  to  imagine  the 
army  of  any  European  country  being  in 
better  shape  to  fight  us  than  that  of  Agui- 
naldo  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak  on  Febru- 
ary 4,  with  the  conditions  of  climate  and 
country  favoring  them." 

A  word  further  regarding  the  Singa- 
pore conference. 

It  seems  almost  incredible  that  so 
important  a  fact  should  not  have  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  Admiral  Dewey, 
Messrs.  Denby,  Worcester,  and  Schur- 


48      THE    OTHER    MAN's   COUNTRY. 

maD,  the  members  of  the  Philippine 
Commission.  But  it  would  seem  that 
these  gentlemen  were  ignorant  of  what 
had  happened,  for  they  state  in  their 
preliminary  report,  issued  on  the  eve 
of  the  Ohio  election,  that  the  idea  of 
Philippine  independence  "  first  arose" 
when  Admiral  Dewey  ordered  Agui- 
naldo  to  remove  his  camp  from  Cavite 
to  Bacoor.  This  occurred  towards  the 
close  of  June,  1898,  about  two  months 
after  the  time  when  Aguinaldo  had 
presented  that  idea  definitely  to  the 
world.  Nor  is  this  the  only  mislead- 
ing statement  which  appears  in  the 
Peace  Commissioners'  report,  or  which 
contradicts  what  the  Commissioners,  as 
individuals,  have  said  on  other  occa- 
sions, or  what  we  know  to  be  true 
from  other  reliable  testimony.  For 
example,  the  report  says,  "  Deplorable 
as  war  is,  the  one  in  which  we  are 
now  engaged  was  unavoidable  by  us," 
while  Admiral   Dewey  states,  in   an 


THE   OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY.      49 

interview  with  the  "Washington  Star 
(a  j^aper  which  supports  the  adminis- 
tration), that  tlie  war  could  have  been 
avoided  had  General  Leonard  Wood, 
or  a  man  like  him,  been  in  command. 
There  are  other  discrepancies  which 
will  at  once  be  apparent  to  every  one 
who  carefully  compares  this  document 
with  the  actual  facts  of  the  case  that 
have  been  established  by  valid  evi- 
dence. The  impartial  mind  is  forced 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  signers  must 
have  attached  their  signatures  without 
reading  carefully  what  the  report  con- 
tained, and  that  whoever  may  have 
been  charged  with  the  preparation  of 
the  report  must  have  felt  himself 
obliged  to  stretch  facts  beyond  the 
limits  of  strict  accuracy  in  order  to 
meet  the  exigencies  of  an  exacting 
political  situation. 

Some  important  statements  of  fact 
made  in  the  report  of  the  Peace  Com- 
mission— statements    which    are    evi- 

4 


50      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

dently  intended  to  impress  the  mind 
of  the  reader  with  a  view  favorable  to 
the  President's  policy — are  sharply 
contradicted  by  the  official  evidence 
contained  in  Senate  Document  No.  62. 
These,  when  read  in  the  light  of  that 
testimony,  convey  a  totally  different 
impression  from  that  given  by  the 
report.  Let  us  cite  examples.  The 
report  states : 

"It  was  decided  to  allow  Aguinaldo  to 
come  to  Cavite  on  board  tlie  '  McCulloch.' 
He  was  allowed  to  land  at  Cavite  and 
organize  an  army.  .  .  .  N'o  alliance  of  any 
kind  was  entered  into  with  Aguinaldo." 

Would  the  uninformed  reader  gather 
from  such  statements  that  our  consul, 
E.  Spencer  Pratt,  had  sought  Agui- 
naldo out  at  Singapore  and  had  urged 
him  strongly  to  do  the  very  things 
the  report  is  careful  to  inform  us  he 
was  "allowed"  to  do, — suggestions 
promptly  and  gladly  accepted  by  Ad- 


THE   OTHER    MAN's   COUNTRY.      51 

miral  Dewey?  We  are  told  that  no 
"  alliance  of  any  kind  was  entered 
into"  by  our  forces  with  Aguinaldo. 
"What  is  an  alliance?  Among  other 
things,  it  is  a  union  of  interests  be- 
tween States  or  j)ersons  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  a  definite  purpose.  It  is 
not  claimed  that  this  was  an  alliance 
in  which  there  was  a  formal  and  written 
compact.  It  was  not  that.  But  that 
it  was  an  alliance  morally,  which 
brought  both  parties  to  it  under  moral 
obligations,  would  seem  quite  clear 
from  the  evidence.  There  was  a  real 
union  and  co-operation  between  our 
forces  and  those  of  Aguinaldo  for  the 
overthrow  of  Spanish  power.  The 
Filipinos  rendered  valuable  services 
to  that  end.  Is  there  not  evidence  of 
a  very  real  alliance  in  the  following 
despatch  from  Admiral  Dewey  to 
Secretary  Long,  June  27,  1898  ? 

''I  have  given  Aguinaldo  to  understand 
that  I  consider  insurgents  as  friends,  being 


52      THE   OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY. 

opposed  to  a  common  enemy.  [Italics  oiirs.] 
He  has  gone  to  attend  a  meeting  of  insur- 
gent leaders  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a 
civil  government.  [Italics  ours,]  Aguinaldo 
has  acted  independently  of  the  squadron, 
but  has  kept  me  advised  of  his  progress, 
which  has  been  wonderful.  I  have  allowed 
to  pass  by  water,  recruits,  arms,  and  am- 
munition, and  to  take  such  Spanish  arms 
and  ammunition  from  the  arsenal  as  he 
needed.  Have  frequently  advised  to  con- 
duct the  war  humanely,  which  he  has  done 
invariably." 

What  sort  of  a  relationship  does 
General  Greene's  memorandum  on 
the  Philippines,  September  30,  1898, 
show,  if  not  an  alliance  ? 

''The  United  States  Government,  through 
its  naval  commander,  has  to  some  extent 
made  use  of  them  [the  Filipinos]  for  a  dis- 
tinct military  purx)0se — viz.,  to  harass  and 
annoy  the  Spanish  troops,  to  wear  them 
out  in  the  trenches,  to  blockade  Manila  on 
the  land  side,  and  to  do  as  much  damage  as 
possible  to  the  Spanish  Government  prior 
to  the  arrival  of  our  troops." 


THE   OTHER   MAn's    COUNTRY.       53 

And  so  successful  was  this  alliance 
in  accomplishing  its  purpose  that  the 
Commissioners  themselves  admit  that 
"the  Filipino  forces  made  themselves 
masters  of  the  entire  island  except 
that  city  (Manila)."  It  was  natural 
and  fair  that  Aguinaldo  should  at 
least  infer  as  the  result  of  the  secret 
conference  with  Consul- General  Pratt 
at  Singapore  that  the  overthrow  of 
Spanish  power  in  Luzon  would  result 
in  promises  to  the  Filipinos  similar  to 
those  made  the  Cubans.  What  in- 
ducement to  him  could  there  have 
been  to  make  the  venture  had  he 
known  that  we  would  demand  a  sub- 
jugation of  the  island  without  giving 
definite  political  status  to  its  people? 
The  report  further  states  : 

^^  Now  for  the  first  time  arose  the  idea  of 
independence P     [Italics  ours.] 

After  Aguinaldo  had  been  brought 
to   Cavite  and  ordered   to   move  his 


54      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

head-quarters  thence  to  Bacoor,  the  im- 
plication would  seem  to  be  that  pique 
at  being  pushed  back  made  him  grasp 
at  independence  from  the  Americans, 
when  otherwise  he  would  have  ac- 
cepted our  absolute  sovereignty.  But 
whatever  may  be  the  purpose  of  the 
Commission,  the  statement  is  grossly 
erroneous.  Senate  Document  62,  pages 
343  and  344,  gives  a  detailed  account 
of  what  took  place  at  the  secret  inter- 
view held  in  Singapore  between  "  Gen. 
Emilio  Aguinaldo  y  Fami"  and  Con- 
sul E.  Spencer  Pratt.  The  account  is 
contained  in  the  Singapore  Free  Press, 
Wednesday,  May  4,  and  this  is  vouched 
for  as  "  substantially  correct"  in  a  des- 
patch to  the  State  Department  from 
E.  Spencer  Pratt.  At  this  "confer- 
ence," at  which  Mr.  Bray  acted  as  inter- 
preter, General  Aguinaldo  explained 
to     the     American      Consul-General 

"the  nature  of  the  co-operation  he  could 
give,   in  which  he,    in  the  event  of  the 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.      55 

American  forces  from  the  squadron  landing 
and  taking  possession  of  Manila,  icould  guar- 
antee to  maintain  order  and  discipline  among 
the  native  troops  and  inhabitants  in  the 
same  humane  way  in  which  he  had  hitherto 
conducted  the  war.  .  .  .  He  further  de- 
clared his  ability  to  establish  a  proper  and 
responsible  government  on  liberal  princi- 
ples, and  would  he  willing  to  accept  the  same 
terms  for  the  country  as  the  United  States  intend 
giving  Cuba.  The  Consul-General  of  the 
United  States,  coinciding  with  the  general  views 
expressed  during  the  discussion  [italics  ours], 
placed  himself  at  once  in  telegraphic  com- 
munication with  Admiral  Dewey  at  Hong 
Kong,  between  whom  and  Mr.  Pratt  a  con- 
stant interchange  of  telegrams  took  place." 

The  article  concludes  with  a  definite 
statement  of  Aguinaldo's  policy.  Let 
it  be  remembered  that  this  statement 
was  published  to  the  world  May  4, 
1898,  or  nearly  two  months  before  the 
time  when  the  Commission  states  that 
"  then  for  the  first  time  arose  the  idea 
of  national  independence."  The  state- 
ment of  policy  is  as  follows : 


66      THE    OTHEE   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

"General  Aguinaldo's  policy  embraces 
the  indepejideiice  [italics  ours]  of  tlie  Philip- 
pines, whose  internal  affairs  would  be  con- 
trolled under  European  advisers.  Ameri- 
can protection  would  be  desirable  tempo- 
rarily, on  the  same  lines  as  that  which 
might  be  instituted  hereafter  in  Cuba.  The 
ports  of  the  Philippines  would  be  free  to 
the  trade  of  the  world,  safeguards  being 
enacted  against  an  influx  of  Chinese  aliens 
who  would  compete  with  the  industrial 
population  of  the  country.  There  would 
be  a  complete  reform  of  the  present  corrupt 
judicature  of  the  country  under  experienced 
European  law  officers,"  etc. 


The  above  is  a  clear,  unequivocal 
Btatement  of  an  independent  govern- 
ment, contemplated  and  published  to 
the  ivorld.  It  neatly  punctures  the 
Commission's  statement  that  such  an 
idea  did  not  arise  until  long  afterwards, 
and  under  circumstances  which  would 
seem  to  throw  discredit  on  the  purpose 
of  the  insurgent  leader  in  announcing 
it.     We  are  told  later : 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.      57 

"  Nor  was  there  any  co-operation  of  any 
kind  between  the  contending  respective 
forces,  and  the  relations  between  the  two 
forces  were  strained  from  the  beginning." 

Then  why  did  General  Anderson 
write  from  Cavite  Arsenal,  July  4, 
1898,  to  "Don  Emilio  Aguinaldo, 
commanding  Philippine  forces,"  that 
the  United  States,  being  at  war  with 
the  kingdom  of  Spain, 

'^has  the  most  friendly  sentiments  for  the 
peoijle  of  the  PhilipxDine  Islands,  and  for 
these  reasons  I  desire  to  have  the  most 
amicable  relations  with  you,  and  to  have 
you  and  your  ]3eople  co-operate  [italics  ours] 
with  us  in  military  operations  against  the  Spanish 
forces'^  ? 

This  proves  conclusively  that  co- 
operation was  desired  by  us.  To  this 
letter  Aguinaldo  replied  in  the  most 
friendly  spirit.  Now,  what  is  the  tes- 
timony as  to  the  actual  existence  and 
value  of  this   Filipino  co-operation, 


58      THE  OTHER   MAN's   COUNTEY. 

which  was  so  eagerly  desired  ?  Gen- 
eral Charles  A.  Whittier  testified  to 
some  important  facts  before  the  Paris 
Peace  Commission,  which  the  Commis- 
sion have  not  thought  fit  to  lay  before 
the  country — at  least  in  their  "pre- 
liminary" report. 

General  Whittier  testified : 

"  Our  consul  offered  that  cMef  [Agui- 
ualdo]  money  for  his  expenses ;  the  offer  was 
declined." 

General  "Whittier  further  states  that 
on  the  first  day  after  Aguinaldo's  ar- 
rival at  Cavite,  as  followers  did  not 
flock  to  his  standard,  he  was  discour- 
aged, and  would  have  returned  to 
Hong  Kong.  "I  think  Dewey  ad- 
vised him  to  make  another  effort." 
After  furnishing  the  insurgents  with 
arms  and  ammunition,  he  adds  : 

''From  that  time  the  military  operations 
and  the  conduct  of  the  insurgents  have  been 


THE   OTHEE   MAN  S  COUNTRY.      59 

most  creditable.  Positions  taken  and  tlie 
movements  of  troops  sliow  great  ability  on 
tlie  part  of  some  leaders.  .  .  .  His  forces 
[Aguiualdo's]  went  around  the  city,  taking 
the  water- works  and  the  north  point  of  the 
city,  and  running  up  the  railroad.  ...  At 
that  time  they  occupied  a  portion  of  Manila. 
We  soon  demanded  that  they  should  give 
that  up,t  0  which  Aguinaldo's  representa- 
tives agreed." 

The  Peace  Commission  asked  Gen- 
eral Whittier  the  direct  question  : 

^'Were   they  of  material  assistance  to 

us?" 

The  answer  was : 

'^  Very  great.  ...  I  think  if  they  [the 
Spaniards]  had  not  had  this  experience  of 
having  been  driven  back  into  the  city  [by 
the  natives]  and  the  water  cut  off,  so  that 
even  Jaudenes  said  he  could  not  remove 
his  non-combatants,  the  government  would 
have  insisted  on  his  making  a  fight,  and  he 
would  have  made  a  very  good  one,  for  his 
position  was  strong,  if  they  had  any  fight 


60      THE  OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY. 

in  tlieiii  at  all.  But  every  place  liad  been 
taken  from  them  by  the  Filipinos,  who  man- 
aged their  advances  and  occui3ation  of  the 
country  in  an  able  manner." 

Anotlier  illustration  of  the  unju- 
dicial nature  of  the  report,  and  so  of 
its  unreliability  in  certain  important 
respects,  is  found  in  its  treatment  of 
the  causes  of  the  war  between  the 
United  States  and  the  Filipinos.  The 
report  treats  elaborately  the  insolence 
of  the  natives  and  the  provocations 
put  u23on  our  men  by  them,  but  fails 
to  treat  or  to  explain  the  vital  cause 
of  these  irritations,  and  finally  of  a 
tension  which  provoked  the  outbreak. 
This  was  the  proclamation  of  President 
McKinley  ordering  the  extension  of 
our  military  control  over  the  island  of 
Luzon  seven  weeks  in  advance  of  the 
ratification  of  the  treaty.  .This  act, 
unconstitutional  as  it  was,  virtually 
declared  war  on  the  Filipinos,  unless 
they  were  willing  to  abandon  the  ex- 


THE   OTHER    MAn's   COUNTRY.      61 

periment  in  self-government  they  liad 
already  begun,  and  wliicli  for  six 
months  held  peaceful  control  of  almost 
the  entire  island. 

Another  illustration  of  unfair  deal- 
ing with  a  grave  matter  is  found  in 
the  emphasis  laid  by  the  Commission 
on  the  "  obduracy"  of  Aguinaldo  in 
continuing  forcible  resistance,  and  in 
refusing  even  to  outline  terms  which 
might  be  compared  with  the  terms 
offered,  or  with  the  concessions  which 
the  superior  power  might  be  willing 
to  make.  The  Commission  might  have 
found  the  satisfactory  explanation  of 
this  obduracy  in  an  article  recently 
published  in  the  Outlook  by  one  of 
its  own  members.  Dr.  Schurman,  who 
says  that  when  the  Commissioners 
stated  to  the  Filipinos  the  terms  the 
President  was  willing  to  offer  (and 
these  fell  far  short  of  what  they  de- 
sired), "  the  shrewd  Filipinos  imme- 
diately  made  the  point  that  under  the 


62      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

Constitution  of  the  United  States  only 
Congress  could  determine  their  political 
status  ;  that  whatever  -powers  the  Presi- 
dent exercised  were  the  ivar  poivers  of 
the  Constitution,  ivhich  ceased  with  the 
establishment  of  peace''  [Italics  ours.] 
A  reply  showing  considerable  appre- 
ciation of  constitutional  government, 
wliich  Dr.  Schurman  was  evidently 
forced  to  admire,  and  which  exposed 
cleverly  the  weakness  of  the  President 
in  failing  to  convene  Congress,  so  that 
a  stable  basis  for  the  negotiations  of 
the  contending  forces  might  be  effected. 
Let  us  glance  at  one  or  two  more 
propositions  of  the  report  which  are 
equally  vulnerable. 

' '  Never  in  the  worst  days  of  Spanish  rule 
had  the  people  been  so  badly  taxed  or  worse 
governed." 

This  refers  to  the  Filipino  provi- 
sional government.     Let  the  sincere 


THE   OTHER   MAn's    COUNTRY.       63 

student  of  the  question  turn  from  this 
astonishing  statement  first  to  the  record 
of  "the  worst  days  of  Spanish  rule," 
and  then  to  the  report  of  Admiral 
Dewey's  representatives  in  a  journey 
of  six  hundred  miles  through  Luzon, 
October  and  November,  1898,  when 
the  provisional  Filipino  government 
held  the  island  under  its  control  for 
six  months. 

The  former  period  shows  horrible 
barbarities.  Consul  Williams  reports, 
March  31,  1898 : 

*^On  Friday,  March  25,  a  churcli  and 
legal  holiday,  unarmed  natives  were  hold- 
ing a  meeting  near  my  consulate.  The  meet- 
ing was  surrounded  by  the  police  and 
suspicious  military,  the  meeting  broken 
up,  twelve  natives  shot  to  death,  several 
wounded,  and  sixty-two  prisoners  taken, 
certain  of  whom  were  passers-by,  not  having 
attended  the  meeting.  The  next  morning 
these  sixty-two  prisoners,  without  form  of 
trial,  were  marched  in  a  body  to  the  ceme- 
tery and  all  shot  to  death.     Hardly  a  day 


64      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

passes  without  such  scenes  of  Middle  Age 
treachery  and  barbarity." 

Now,  for  contrast,  turn  again  to  tlie 
testimony  of  General  Whittier : 

'  '■  Their  conduct  to  their  Spanish  prison- 
ers has  been  deserving  of  the  praise  of  all 
the  world.  "With  hatred  of  priests  and 
Spaniards,  fairly  held  on  account  of  the 
conditions  before  narrated,  and  with  every 
justification  to  a  savage  mind  of  the  most 
brutal  revenge,  I  have  heard  of  no  instance 
of  torture,  murder,  or  brutality  since  we 
have  been  in  the  country." 

But  stronger  still  is  the  testimony 
of  Wilcox  and  Sargent.  They  trav- 
elled unprotected,  through  an  immense 
extent  of  insurgent  country,  among  a 
contented  people,  who  treated  them 
with  every  kindness.  The  one  thing 
of  which  they  had  to  complain  was 
dinners  too  rich  and  elaborate.  They 
mention  as  an  exception  a  single  in- 
stance of  complaint  of  taxes,  and  that 
proceeded  from  a  single  family.    Span- 


THE   OTHER    MAn's   COUNTRY.       65 

ish  prisoners  in  good  condition  were 
paraded  for  their  inspection.  Peace 
everywhere  prevailed.  A  military  of- 
ficer resigned  his  position  in  the  town 
of  Aparri  upon  information  supposed 
to  be  authentic  that  the  Paris  Peace 
Commission  would  grant  the  Filipinos 
independence  under  an  American  pro- 
tectorate. A  civil  officer  elected  by 
the  people  takes  his  oath  of  office,  de- 
claring to  his  fellow-countrymen  and 
hearers  that,  sooner  than  abandon  their 
dearly  bought  independence  to  any  in- 
truding power,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren will  shed  the  last  drop  of  blood 
in  resistance. 

What  is  the  meaning  of  such  tragic, 
pathetic  facts  as  these — authentic  facts, 
which  the  report  of  the  Commission 
has  so  studiously  kept  back  from  the 
public,  while  others,  tending  to  the 
discredit  of  this  unhappy  people,  have 
been  given,  some  of  which,  as  has  been 
shown,    seriously     misrepresent     the 


66      THE   OTHER    MAn's    COUNTRY. 

truth?  There  is,  indeed,  a  strange 
absence  of  the  judicial  spirit  in  this 
report — a  strange  failure  to  present, 
along  with  the  weaknesses  and  short- 
comings of  this  race,  emerging  from 
terrible  oppression,  the  many  admira- 
ble qualities  and  the  large  services 
rendered  us  with  which  the  Filipinos 
should  be  credited.  But,  what  is 
worse,  there  is  a  comjDlete  suppression 
of  our  own  blunders  and  our  sad  fail- 
ure to  be  true  to  the  disinterested  mo- 
tives and  lofty  purposes  which  pre- 
scribed the  limits  of  our  attitude 
towards  Cuba. 

The  report  lays  strong  emphasis 
upon  the  irritations  put  upon  the  Fili- 
pinos by  our  soldiers  previous  to  the 
outbreak  of  actual  hostilities  upon  the 
4th  of  February,  18^8",  but  no  allusion 
is  made  to  the  fact  tha  b  we  had  violated 
our  understanding  w.th  our  allies,  or 
that  the  chiefs  had  leen  treated  with 
the  least  possible  show  of  respect  by 


THE   OTHER  MAn's   COUNTRY.      67 

US  after  we  had  reaped  the  fruit  of 
their  service,  or  that  the  President 
had  issued  an  unconstitutional  procla- 
mation, December  21,  1898,  declaring 
United  States  sovereignty  over  the 
islands  before  the  ratification  of  the 
Treaty  of  Paris  gave  to  him  even  a 
technical  right  to  do  so.  Truly,  acts 
such  as  these, — the  violations  of  a 
clearly  expressed  understanding,  the 
betrayal  of  the  confidence  of  allies 
who  have  rested  their  hopes  upon  our 
honor, — the  great  truths  enunciated 
in  our  own  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, and  before  all  the  significant 
events  of  our  past  history,  were  suffi- 
cient to  account  for  the  resentment 
and  violent  acts  of  the  Filipinos. 
They  felt  that  our  treatment  of  them 
involved  perfidy  to  our  own  standards 
and  to  the  dictates  of  honor.  Our 
action  was  virtually  a  declaration  of 
war  against  the  newly-formed  Filipino 
government. 


68      THE   OTHER   MAN'S   COUNTRY. 

Even  a  superficial  examination  of 
the  consular  and  other  reports  issued 
by  the  State  and  Navy  Departments 
makes  this  important  fact  clear :  in 
the  early  stages  of  our  relationship 
with  the  Filipinos  our  representatives 
in  the  East,  Admiral  Dewey,  Consul- 
General  Pratt,  Consuls  Wildman  and 
Williams,  evidently  supposed,  judging 
from  the  tone  of  their  despatches  and 
reports,  that  our  treatment  of  the 
Filipinos  was  to  be  the  same  as  that 
which  we  had  guaranteed  the  Cubans. 
While  probably  no  precise  promises 
were  made  to  Aguinaldo  further  than 
the  assurance  given  him  by  Consul- 
General  Pratt  that  he  might  rely  on 
the  honor  of  the  United  States,  our 
acceptance  of  his  services  after  the 
clear  statement  on  his  joart  of  what 
requital  he  exj)ected,  constitutes,  in 
the  sphere  of  moral  obligation,  a 
promise  of  the  most  binding  nature. 
Our  failure  to  meet  that  obligation, 


THE  OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.      69 

or  even  to  give  the  slightest  indication 
of  a  desire  to  meet  it,  at  once  rendered 
us  guilty  of  a  most  serious  breach  of 
faith.  A  further  observation  of  official 
despatches  reveals  this  significant  fact : 
the  inquiries  of  the  authorities  in 
"Washington  made  of  their  representa- 
tives in  the  Philippines  are  at  no  time 
concerned  with  the  question  of  the 
fitness  of  the  natives  for  self-govern- 
ment, nor  of  means  best  suited  to 
minister  to  the  welfare  of  the  Fili- 
pinos, as  would  naturally  have  been 
the  case  had  our  object  been  that 
which  we  professed  on  entering  the 
Spanish  war.  They  relate  wholly  to 
the  material  riches  and  advantages  of 
the  islands,  with  an  evident  view  to 
the  benefit  the  United  States  will  de- 
rive from  them.  The  confusion  and 
discrej)ancies  existing  between  many 
of  Admiral  Dewey's  statements,  as 
well  as  of  the  other  Peace  Commis- 
sioners in   the  earlier  stages  of  our 


70      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

operations  and  tliose  later  on,  are  ap- 
parently to  be  accounted  for  by  tbis 
fact :  it  was  necessary  to  trim  tbe  sails 
afresh  to  suit  a  new  breeze.  Admiral 
Dewey  informs  tbe  world  tbat  be 
never  treated  Aguinaldo  "  as  an  ally 
except  to  make  use  of  bim  to  drive 
out  tbe  Spaniards."  One  migbt  in- 
quire, Wbat  otber  use  is  usually  made 
of  allies  in  war  ? 

Brigadier-General  T.  M.  Anderson, 
U.S.Y.,  in  an  article  published  by  tbe 
North  American  Revieto  for  February, 
1900,  waiving  tbe  question  as  to  wbat 
precise  verbal  promises  were  made  to 
Aguinaldo,  says  : 

''Wlietlier  Admiral  Dewey  and  Consuls 
Pratt,  Wildman,  and  "Williams  did,  or  did 
not,  give  Aguinaldo  assurances  that  a  Fili- 
pino government  would  be  recognized,  the 
Filipinos  certainly  thought  so,  probably 
inferring  this  from  their  acts '  rather  than 
their  statements.  If  an  incipient  rebellion 
was  already  in  progress,  what  could  be  in- 


THE   OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY.       71 

ferred  from  the  fact  that  Aguinaldo  and 
thirteen  other  banished  Tagals  werelbrought 
do-vni  on  a  naval  vessel  and  landed  in  Ca- 
vite!"  .  .  .  '^I  believe  we  came  to  the 
parting  of  the  ^^ays  when  we  refused  their 
request  to  leave  their  military  force  in  good 
strategic  position  on  the  contingency  of  our 
making  peace  with  SiJain  without  a  guar- 
antee of  independence."  .  .   . 

''  There  were  other  causes  of  antagonism, 
our  soldiers  to  get  what  they  called  troi^hies, 
did  a  good  deal  of  what  the  Filipinos  called 
looting.  A  number  made  debts  which  they 
did  not  find  it  convenient  to  pay.  They 
called  the  natives  'niggers,'  and  often 
treated  them  with  a  good-natured  conde- 
scension which  exasperated  the  natives  all 
the  more  because  they  feared  to  resent 
it."  .  .  . 

''One  of  Aguinaldo' s  Commission,  who 
was  subsequently  a  member  of  his  cabinet, 
said  to  me  :  '  Either  we  have  a  de  facto  gov- 
ernment, or  we  have  not.  If  we  have,  why 
not  recognize  the  fact?  If  not,  why  have 
you  recognized  us  at  all  V  This  last  remark 
referred  to  General  Merritt's  conceding  them 
the  control  of  the  Manila  "Water- Works, 
and  to  General  Otis' s  attempts  to  negotiate 
with  them  without  committing  himself." 


72      THE   OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY. 

General  Anderson  refers  to  Agui- 
naldo's  inquiry  as  to  wlietlier  we  in- 
tended to  hold  the  Philippines  as 
dependencies :  "  I  said  I  could  not 
answer  that,  but  in  twenty  years  we 
had  established  no  colonies.  He  then 
made  this  remarkable  statement :  *  I 
have  studied  attentively  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  and  I  find 
in  it  no  authority  for  colonies,  and  I 
have  no  fear.' "  General  Anderson 
adds :  "  It  may  seem  that  my  answer 
was  somewhat  evasive,  but  at  that  time 
I  was  trying  to  contract  with  the  Fili- 
pinos for  horses,  carts,  fuel,  and  for- 
age." 

General  Anderson  also  states  that 
Admiral  Dewey  did  not  realize,  until 
he  told  him  of  it,  that  a  current  of 
sentiment  was  running  in  the  United 
States  towards  the  retention  of  the 
islands.  Doubtless  the  administration, 
seated  in  Washington,  or  taking  a 
palace-car  journey  in   the  West,  felt 


THE   OTHER    MAN's   COUNTRY.       73 

the  force  of  that  current  also.  Thig 
would  seem  to  furnish  one  rational 
ex^Dlanation  of  why  a  war  begun  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  peace,  order, 
and  liberty  to  Cuba  changed  into  a 
war  which  has  given  to  the  Philip- 
pines up  to  this  moment  arbitrary 
rule,  war,  and  anarchy.  It  is  this, 
in  default  of  some  better  explanation, 
which  must  account  for  the  shameful 
sacrifice  of  American  principles,  of 
faith,  honor,  and  justice  which  this 
year  of  carnage  has  witnessed. 

Errors  of  fact  are  not  confined 
alone  to  the  Philippine  Commission's 
report.  President  McKinley,  in  his 
third  annual  message  to  Congress,  re- 
peated a  charge  against  the  Filipinos 
that  had  frequently  been  exploded. 
He  said : 

''An  order  of  the  insurgent  government 
was  issued  to  its  adherents  who  had  re- 
mained in  Manila,  of  which  General  Otis 
justly  observes  that  ^for  barbarous  intent 


74      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

it  is  unequalled  in  modern  times. '  It  directs 
that  at  eight  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  15th 
of  February  the  'territorial  militia'  shall 
come  together  in  the  streets  of  San  Pedro, 
armed  wdth  their  bolos,  with  guns  and 
ammunition,  where  convenient ;  that  Fili- 
pino families  only  shall  be  respected,  but 
that  all  other  individuals,  of  whatever  race 
they  may  be,  shall  be  exterminated  without 
any  compassion,  after  the  extermination  of 
the  army  of  occupation,  and  adds :  '  Broth- 
ers, we  must  avenge  ourselves  on  the  Ameri- 
cans and  exterminate  them,  that  we  may 
take  our  revenge  for  the  infamies  and 
treacheries  which  they  have  committed 
upon  us.  Have  no  compassion  upon  them ; 
attack  with  vigor.'  A  copy  of  this  fell,  by 
good  fortune,  into  the  hands  of  our  ofQ.cers, 
and  they  were  able  to  take  measures  to 
control  the  rising,  which  was  actually  at- 
tempted on  the  night  of  February  22,  a 
week  later  than  was  originally  contem- 
plated. Considerable  numbers  of  armed 
insurgents  entered  the  city  by  water-ways 
and  swamps,  and  in  concert  with  confeder- 
ates inside  attempted  to  destroy  Manila  by 
fire.  They  were  kept  in  check  during  the 
night,  and  the  next  day  driven  out  of  the 
ci^  with  heavy  loss." 


THE   OTHER    MAN's    COUNTRY.       75 

The  evidence  so  far  produced  seems 
insufficient  to  prove  that  the  alleged 
plot  to  massacre  is  more  than  one  of 
rumors,  subsequently  shown  to  be  false, 
that  circulated  periodically  in  Manila, 
and  which  probably  originated  with 
the  friars.  Aguinaldo's  course  has 
invariably  been  a  humane  one,  unsul- 
lied by  massacres.  It  is,  therefore, 
highly  improbable  that  he  would  sanc- 
tion the  folly  of  a  diabolical  plot  to 
slaughter  all  foreigners  located  at  Ma- 
nila. Nor  could  anything  be  gained 
thereby.  Aguinaldo  knew  perfectly 
well  that  it  would  give  his  govern- 
ment such  a  reputation  for  barbarism 
that  he  could  not  expect  it  to  be  sus- 
tained. 

The  Filipinos  were  in  full  possession 
of  Iloilo  at  the  t*me  for  which  this 
massacre  was  alleged  to  have  been  ar- 
ranged, and  yet  not  one  of  the  many 
foreigners  there — among  them  Ameri- 
cans— ^was    molested;    nor   did  there 


76      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

seem  to  be  the  slightest  danger.  If 
wholesale  slaughter  had  been  the  pol- 
icy of  the  insurgents,  it  is  not  likely 
that  a  city  over  which  they  had  ab- 
solute control  would  have  been  spared 
from  the  sword. 

Lieutenant-Commander  C.  G.  Cal- 
kins, U.S.N.,  an  officer  of  Dewey's 
fleet,  in  an  article  on  "The  Filipino 
Leaders,"  published  in  Ainslee^s  Mag- 
azine for  May,  1900,  says  in  regard  to 
these  rumors : 

''The  legend  of  the  Katipiinan  includes 
a  series  of  documents  directing  'the  assas- 
sination of  all  Spaniards'  or  other  foreign- 
ers. Efforts  have  been  made  to  associate 
schemes  of  plunder  and  murder  with  every 
political  movement  among  the  natives.  It 
is  useless  to  attempt  the  destruction  of 
ancient  myths  while  the  original  shop  is 
still  open  for  the  supply  of  new  ones,  but  it 
is  plain  that  the  artist's  name  is  generally 
uncertain.  The  attribution  of  a  futile  i^roc- 
lamation  of  savage  instinct  to  men  dis- 
tinguished   for  intelligence  and  practical 


THE   OTHER    MAn's   COUNTRY.       77 

liumauity  is  an  unworthy  device  charac- 
teristic of  Spanish  tyranny  in  the  Philip- 
pines." 

In  the  same  article  Lieutenant-Com- 
mander Calkins  says  of  Aguinaldo  in 
this  connection : 

*'  He  has  never  been  convicted  of  corrup- 
tion or  cruelty.  His  treatment  of  Spanish 
prisoners  was  humane  and  even  generous 
compared  with  that  which  Spain  has  given 
her  rebels  in  any  civil  contest  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  In  July,  1898,  many  pris- 
oners cajDtured  by  the  American  forces  were 
placed  in  his  custody." 

Some  light  is  thrown  on  the  source 
of  these  incendiary  rumors  and  docu- 
ments charged  against  the  Filipinos  in 
a  statement  made  before  the  United 
States  Peace  Commission  at  Paris, 
France,  October  8,  1898,  by  John 
Foreman.  The  friars  demanded  that 
Dr.  Rizal  be  executed  on  the  ground 
that  he  carried  incendiary  leaflets  for 
the  purpose  of  raising  a  rebellion ;  but 


78      THE   OTHER    MAn's   COUNTRY. 

the  Governor-General  refused  to  ac- 
cede to  their  request,  holding  that  the 
charge  was  unfounded.  To  quote  Mr. 
Foreman's  statement  from  Senate 
Document  62 : 

"  That  displeased  the  priests  very  much. 
They  had  strife  and  questions  between  them 
and  the  governor-general,  and  the  latter 
said,  ^  I  am  going  to  see  how  you  are  work- 
ing,' and,  all  of  a  sudden,  he  had  a  raid 
made  upon  the  residences  of  the  Augus- 
tinian  monks  in  a  place  north  of  Manila, 
and  had  the  place  suddenly  seized  and 
raided,  and  it  is  very  well  known  that  he 
found  a  press  printing  these  same  incen- 
diary leaflets,  and  the  priest  who  was  em- 
ployed in  doing  so  was  perfectly  well  known 
to  every  one  in  Malabon,  to  Americans  and 
English,  where  there  is  a  big  sugar- refining 
establishment  owned  by  Americans  and 
English,  the  English  resident  in  Manila  and 
the  Americans  in  Hong  Kong,  and  known 
personally  to  them.  The  man  disappeared, 
and  was  never  seen  again.  I  can  hardly 
say  where  he  went.  These  leaflets  were 
seized,  and  from  that  moment  the  governor- 
general  was  a  condemned  man,  and  he  left." 


THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.      79 

Mr.  Howard  W.  Bray  states  in  his 
English  translation  of  Dr.  Ferdinand 
Blumentritt's  "Biography  of  Dr. 
Kizal"  regarding  this  point : 

*'It  "was  an  open  secret  at  the  time,  that 
these  pamphlets  had  been  clandestinely  in- 
troduced into  his  luggage  by  ecclesiastical 
intrigues.  Eizal,  on  landing,  naturally 
hastened  to  greet  his  family,  leaving  his 
luggage  in  the  Custom  House  for  subsequent 
examination.  During  his  absence  some 
officials,  suborned  by  the  Augustine  Friars, 
introduced  the  pamphlets,  and  the  Machia- 
velian  plot  succeeded.  Eizal  was  banished 
to  Dapitan,  notwithstanding  his  indignantly 
protesting  his  innocence. 

''Subsequent  inquiries  instituted  by  the 
then  Governor- General,  Despujols,  revealed 
the  fact  that  these  very  same  pamphlets  had 
been  printed  in  a  private  printing-press 
owned  by  the  Augustine  Friars  in  the  town 
of  Malabon,  near  Manila,  where  not  only 
were  numerous  numbers  of  them  found, 
hut  also  the  type  still  set ! ! 

''Such,  however,  is  the  omnipotent  jDower 
of  the  friars  in  the  Philippines,  that  Des- 
pujols had  not  the  courage  to  revoke  his 


80      THE   OTHEK   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

order  of  banishment,  and  from  that  time 
until  the  commencement  of  the  rebellion 
poor  Eizal  remained  a  prisoner  in  the  Span- 
iards' hands  in  the  far-off  colony  of  Dapitan, 
and  the  unpleasant  affair  was  hushed  up  in 
the  usual  diplomatic  way." 

Mr.  A.  L.  Mumper,  of  Greeley, 
Colorado,  who  served  with  an  Idaho 
regiment  in  the  Philippines,  makes  an 
interesting  statement  on  this  subject, 
based  on  personal  observation.  He 
says : 

''It  has  been  stated  that  Aguinaldo -was 
party  to  a  plan  to  massacre  the  inhabitants 
of  Manila  about  the  13th  of  February.  It 
is  very  probable  that  there  is  not  more  truth 
in  this  rumor  than  in  a  thousand  similar 
rumors.  Every  soldier  stationed  in  Manila 
knows  that  Manila  is,  and  is  far  famed  as 
being,  a  city  of  'rumors'  ;  knows  that 
scarcely  a  week  passed  during  the  entire 
waiting  that  intervened  between  the  fall  of 
Manila,  on  the  13th  of  August,  and  the 
battle  of  February  5th,  without  similar 
rumors  of  plots  of  assassination  and  up- 
rising among  the  Filipinos   in    the  city. 


THE  OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.      81 

Efforts  to  trace  these  rumors  to  tlieir  original 
source  liave  often  been  made,  and  tliougli 
tliey  generally  availed  nothing  some  were 
traced  to  the  friars  as  the  originators.  It 
is  known  that  time  and  again  the  friars 
issued  circulars  for  the  purpose  of  preju- 
dicing Americans  and  Spaniards  against  the 
Filipinos,  as  they  understood  the  success  of 
the  Filipinos  meant  their  downfall.  Many 
of  these  circulars,  all  properly  signed,  were 
proved  upon  investigation  to  be  spurious. 
And  when  this  relation  between  the  friars 
and  Filipinos  is  understood,  the  motive  M-ill 
be  easily  understood. 

'' Another  class  at  work  was  the  discon- 
tented Spaniards,  who,  after  the  fall  of  the 
city  of  Manila,  played  into  the  hands  of 
the  Americans  and  were  desirous  of  re- 
ceiving their  support  and  friendship  as 
against  the  Filipinos.  This  class  did  every- 
thing they  could  to  prejudice  the  Ameri- 
cans against  the  Filipinos ;  and  between  the 
friars  and  this  class  of  Spaniards  there 
were  few  things  that  could  be  said,  that 
could  hurt  the  Filipino  cause,  that  were  left 
unsaid.  In  the  light  of  these  facts  we  wiU 
be  forced  to  conclude — until  the  most  posi- 
tive proof  shall  be  brought  forward — that 
this  repeated  plot  of  assassination  and  mur- 
6 


82      THE   OTHEK   MAn's   COUNTEY. 

der  is  but  another  of  those  hundreds  of 
former  plots  which  never  materialized." 


Perhaps  one  of  the  saddest  incidents 
in  this  history  is  the  part  that  Admiral 
Dewey  has  played  in  it.  The  Ameri- 
can people  long  for  a  worthy  object  on 
which  to  lavish  their  affection.  They 
dearly  love  a  hero,  and  they  believed 
they  had  found  one  in  Admiral  Dewey. 
They  did  indeed  find  a  naval  hero ; 
courage  and  skill  united  in  him.  The 
precise  moment  and  occasion  for  the 
display  of  these  qualities  came,  and 
the  chance  was  not  lost.  How  truly 
dramatic  was  the  occasion !  The 
crumbling  castle  walls  of  tyranny 
and  greed  fall  to  pieces  as  the  bugle 
blast  of  this  knight-errant  blows. 
Could  he  have  died  in  the  moment  of 
victory  his  name  would  have  been  im- 
mortal. What  was  it  which  set  the 
American  people  wild  with  enthusiasm 
over    his    exploit,    and    prompted    a 


THE  OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.      83 

demonstration  upon  his  return  to  his 
native  land,  spontaneous  and  irre- 
pressible, such  as  has  been  offered 
none  of  our  conquering  soldiers  or 
sailors?  It  could  not  have  been  the 
mere  completeness  of  his  victory,  be- 
cause Dewey  slew  a  thousand  Spaniards 
and  lost  not  a  man ;  because  he  scuttled 
or  burned  all  of  the  enemies'  ships,  pre- 
serving his  own  intact.  The  American 
mind  is  not  so  grossly  material  as  to 
give  the  laurel  wreath  for  an  exploit 
which  meant  no  more  than  this.  Ad- 
miral Dewey  was  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people  a  great  hero,  not  so  much  be- 
cause he  had  conquered  a  force  in 
every  way  inferior  to  his  own,  but 
because  he  was  the  living  embodiment 
of  American  ideals  of  liberty  and 
justice ;  because  he  was  freeing  a  sub- 
ject people  from  the  grinding  tyranny 
of  Spain.  It  was  right  overcoming 
wrong,  not  the  demonstration  only  of 
a  superior  force  vanquishing  an  in- 


84      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

ferior  one,  wliicli  America  discerned 
in  that  event. 

Deprive  the  battle  of  Manila  of  this 
ethical  element,  subtle,  imponderable  as 
it  is,  and  the  hero  is  transferred  at  once 
into  the  vulgar  conqueror.  He  is  no 
better  than  hundreds  of  others  who 
have  fought  and  slain  their  foes.  It 
was  for  this  reason  that  discerning 
Americans  felt  grieved  and  humiliated 
upon  finding  that  the  man  who  hon- 
estly believed  he  was  the  representative 
of  his  country  in  the  performance  of  a 
great  deed,  through  whom  America 
had  given  liberty  and  independence 
to  the  Philippines,  should  be  content 
to  see  the  peculiar  lustre  of  his  victory 
fade  into  the  vulgar  light  of  conquest. 
It  seemed  impossible  that  the  nation's 
hero  should  be  ready  to  accept,  with- 
out protest,  spurious  honors  at  the 
hands  of  those  who  were  responsible 
for  the  base  and  treacherous  deed, 
which  could  only  be  had  at  the  cost  of 


THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.      85 

the  true  honors  with  which  the  nation 
sought  to  crown  him  for  having  effected 
a  great  deliverance  for  an  outraged 
people.  No  man's  fame  as  that  of  a 
hero  can  long  endure,  in  this  stage  of 
the  world's  moral  progress,  in  whose 
warlike  achievement  does  not  flow  the 
life-blood  of  a  great  moral  purpose. 
Imagine  these  words  inscribed  over 
the  Dewey  arch,  "I  never  treated 
Aguinaldo  as  an  ally,  except  to  make 
use  of  him !" 

A  very  striking  confirmation  is  given 
to  the  view  expressed  in  these  pages  as 
to  the  original  opinion  of  Admiral 
Dewey  concerning  the  true  policy 
which  the  United  States  should  have 
adopted  in  the  Philippines.  This  is 
more  remarkable  in  view  of  Admiral 
Dewey's  apjoarent  complete  acceptance, 
during  the  interim,  of  the  administra- 
tion's policy  of  conquest.  Major  Car- 
son, the  reliable  correspondent  of  the 
Philadelphia  Ledger,   reports  in  his 


86      THE   OTHEK   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

Washington  despatch,  April  16,  1900, 
"As  to  the  Philippines,  he  (Admiral 
Dewey)  urges  the  withdraival  of  the 
United  States,  and  if  we  do  anything 
we  should  aid  the  Filipinos  to  set  up 
their  own  government."  (Author's 
italics.) 

The  causes  of  the  war  between  the 
United  States  and  the  Filipino  de  facto 
government  are  now  perfectly  obvious. 
These  causes  may  be  treated  under  two 
heads,  1st,  the  President's  proclama- 
tion of  December  21,  1898,  declaring 
sovereignty  over  the  islands ;  *  2d,  our 
announcement  to  the  Filipinos  after 
the  fall  of  Manila  that  their  aspirations 
for  self-government  were  to  be  ignored, 
and  that  their  army  was  to  have  no 
share  in  the  fruits  of  its  victory.  This 
announcement  was  virtually  made  by 
the  steady  pressing  back  of  the  Fili- 
pino lines,  which  began  with  the  fall 

*  See  Appendix,  Note  IV. 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.       87 

of  Manila  and  culminated  in  open 
conflict  at  Santa  Mesa,  outside  the 
limits  of  the  city,  on  the  night  of 
February  4,  1899.  Of  the  first 
cause  it  need  only  be  said  that  Presi- 
dent McKinley  had  neither  legal  nor 
moral  right  to  issue  such  a  proclama- 
tion. General  Otis  was  so  alarmed 
at  the  probable  effect  of  this  upon 
the  Filipinos  that  he  took  the  lib- 
erty of  censoring  it  so  as  to  cut  out 
the  words  "  sovereignty,"  "  immediate 
extension  of  authority,"  etc.,  hoping 
that  in  this  way  he  would  deprive  it, 
of  its  principal  power  for  mischief.*  ^'^ 
Unfortunately,  the  proclamation  got 
out  in  its  unamended  form.  The  mis- 
chief which  General  Otis  feared  was 
accomplished.  President  McKinley's 
act  in  issuing  this  proclamation  was 
inexcusable.  It  involved  not  only  a 
gross   violation   of    constitutional   re- 

*  See  Ax^pendis,  Xote  Y. 


88      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

straints,  coming  as  it  did  seven  weeks 
before  the  Treaty  of  Paris  was  rati- 
fied, but  it  was  equally  reprehensible 
from  the  point  of  view  of  morals  and 
common  sense.  In  other  words,  when 
the  treaty  was  constitutionally  in  em- 
bryo, General  Otis  was  ordered  to  en- 
force by  arms,  if  need  be,  its  sov- 
ereignty provisions.  No  wonder  he 
undertook  to  censor  it !  What  were 
the  actual  conditions  in  Luzon  at  this 
time?  The  provisional  government 
of  Aguinaldo,  while  necessarily  for 
the  time  dictatorial  in  its  nature,  was 
pledged  to  give  way  to  a  popular  and 
elective  form  of  government  so  soon 
as  the  troubled  state  of  the  country 
subsided  into  more  peaceful  and  settled 
conditions.  This  government  extended 
over  the  entire  island  of  Luzon,  with 
the  exception  of  Manila,  which  was 
held  by  us,  and  some  few  ports  iu 
which  the  Spaniards  were  besieged. 
There  was  no  state  of  anarchy  existing 


THE  OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.      89 

which  would  have  justified  us  in  seiz- 
ing the  islands  for  the  preservation  of 
peace  and  order.  The  report  of  Wil- 
cox and  Sargent,  two  naval  officers  who 
were  sent  by  Admiral  Dewey  on  a  tour 
of  inspection  six  hundred  miles  in  ex- 
tent through  Luzon,  in  October  and 
November,  1898,  presents  strong  testi- 
mony of  the  peaceful  conditions  exist- 
ing, and  of  the  general  content  felt  by 
the  native  people  in  the  new  gov- 
ernment. Not  a  word  appears  in  this 
report  to  indicate  factional  disputes  or 
jealousies,  or  conflicts  existing  between 
the  different  native  tribes  or  races,  con- 
cerning which  the  Peace  Commission- 
ers have  said  so  much.* 

Rev.  Peter  MacQueen,  pastor  of  a 
Congregational  church  in  Somerville, 
Massachusetts,  who  spent  some  time 
in  the  Philippines,  writes  concerning 
the  natives : 

*  See  Appendix,  Note  VI. 


90      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

"Two  elements  in  the  Filipino  character 
are  admitted  by  all,  viz., — bravery  and 
brightness.  The  soldiers  die  and  agonize 
without  ever  a  contortion.  The  school- 
children can  be  taught  anything.  They 
learn  to  read  and  write  as  quickly  as  they 
learn  to  swim.  There  is  far  more  general 
information  among  the  Filipinos  than  we 
usually  think.  Nozaleda,  Archbishop  of 
Manila,  told  me  that  the  common  people  in 
the  Philippines  are  more  intelligent  than 
those  of  Spain.  I  tried  a  great  many  of  the 
boys  and  of  the  working-men,  and  found 
that  almost  every  one  could  write  a  good 
hand.  .  .  .  The  young  Malay  mind  readily 
acquires  language,  and  already  numbers  of 
the  children  greet  you  in  English  on  the 
street.  On  the  boat  to  Nagasaki  we  had 
three  boys  from  Negros  coming  with  Chap- 
lain McKennon  to  be  educated  in  Califor- 
nia. I  took  an  800-mile  trip  across  Japan 
with  the  chaplain  and  his  charges,  and  it 
was  interesting  to  watch  the  boys  studying 
each  jphase  of  Japanese  life.  They  showed 
just  as  intelligent  an  appreciation  of  the 
country  as  American  boys  would.  The 
Japanese  thought  our  •proteges  were  their 
own  countrymen,  and  addressed  them  in 
the  Japanese  tongue.     Eamon  Lacson,  son 


THE   OTHER    MAN's   COUNTRY.       91 

of  the  president  of  N'egros,  aged  fifteen  and 
a  B.A.,  took  carefal  notes,  and  in  six  days 
liad  learned  enough  of  Japanese  words  to 
act  as  an  interpreter  for  us  all." 


Whether  or  not  the  Filipinos  are 
capable  of  self-government  may  be  a 
legitimate  topic  for  debate,  but  it 
manifestly  behooved  the  administra- 
tion to  show  that  the  attempts  of  the 
natives  to  that  end  were  a  failure  be- 
fore it  asked  moral  justification  in  its 
armed  assault  upon  the  existing  Fili- 
pino de  facto  government. 

This  native  government  had  held 
peaceful  sway  over  the  great  island  of 
Luzon  for  six  months,  and,  indeed,  un- 
til its  military  and  civil  officers  were 
obliged  to  fight  for  their  lives  against 
the  fierce  onslaught  of  the  soldiers  of 
the  Eepublic  of  Freedom  !  The  bur- 
den of  proof,  showing  that  the  Fili- 
pinos were  incapable  of  governing 
themselves,  rests  upon  the  shoulders 


92      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

of  President  McKinley,  not  upon 
tliose  of  his  fellow-citizens  who  claim 
that  the  Filipinos  were  thus  capable. 
The  President  in  doing  as  he  did  was 
guilty  of  that  very  act  of  "criminal 
aggression"  which  he  said  was  the 
proper  term  with  which  to  stigmatize 
"forcible  annexation."  In  view  of 
testimony  subsequently  brought  to 
light,  the  claims  persistently  put  forth 
by  the  administration  that  the  in- 
surgent Filipinos  began  the  war,  and 
that  our  troops  were  only  fighting  on 
the  defensive,  become  untenable.  One 
is  at  a  loss  to  understand  how  the  ad- 
ministration and  its  apologists,  aided 
by  the  press,  can  make  such  an  asser- 
tion while  facts  showing  that  precisely 
the  contrary  was  the  case  were  within 
their  own  keeping,  and  therefore  per- 
fectly accessible  to  them. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  the  Filipinos 
would  have  been  capable  of  maintain- 
ing a  government  wholly  without  our 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.       93 

aid.  They  evidently  looked  for  some 
sort  of  American  jDrotectorate,  and 
would  no  doubt  soon  have  fallen  a 
prey  to  the  cupidity  of  some  foreign 
nation  without  such  fostering  care  on 
our  part.  They  would  gladly  have 
welcomed  advice,  suggestions,  help 
from  us  in  various  ways.  We  could 
have  exerted  that  moral  influence  over 
them,  and  have  continued  to  receive 
in  return  that  gratitude  which  our  wise 
and  friendly  course  towards  Japan  has 
through  so  many  years  produced.  Our 
true  policy  was  evidently  similar  to  that 
adopted  by  Sir  Andrew  Clark,  and 
which  he,  with  so  much  wisdom  and 
success,  as  a  representative  of  Great 
Britain,  carried  out  in  the  Straits 
Settlements.  Such  a  policy  provides 
an  experienced  friend  and  counsellor 
who  points  out  to  local  rulers  the  best 
course  for  them  to  pursue  in  dealing 
with  their  own  people.  It  disturbs 
local  customs  and  conditions  no  more 


94      THE   OTHER    MAN's   COUNTRY. 

than  is  necessary  to  avert  conflicts  with 
other  tribes  or  races,  and  to  prevent 
acts  of  cruelty  or  injustice.  The  out- 
line of  Sir  Andrew  Clark's  policy,  with 
its  clear  common  sense  and  extraor- 
dinary success,  was  brought  to  Presi- 
dent McKinley's  attention  through  a 
letter  remarkable  for  its  practical 
wisdom,  written  by  G.  S.  Clark,  Esq., 
to  Captain  Mahan,  U.S.N.  After 
reading  it,  one  is  the  more  astonished 
that  none  of  its  excellent  suggestions, 
based  as  they  were  on  a  rich  experience, 
should  have  been  adopted. 

Mr.  Clark's  letter  is  as  follows : 


''As  an  earnest  ■well-grislier  of  yonr  coun- 
try, I  am  following  events  very  carefully 
now.  ...  If  you  take  a  waiting  station 
and  leave  tlie  islands  to  stew  in  tlieir  own 
juice,  there  will  be  anarchy  first  and  con- 
siderable annexation  afterwards.  ...  It  is 
most  natural  that  Americans  should  feel 
chary  about  accepting  responsibilities  over 
the  destinies  of  eight  million  people  of 


THE    OTHEE    MAX's    COryiEY.       95 

somewhat  mixed  nationalities, — ^people  wko 
can  fight. 

''Xet  I  Tentnre  to  think  that  in  our  em- 
pire there  is  a  close  parallel  to  the  conditions 
in  the  Philippines  and  that  we  solved  the 
problem,  as  it  is  certain  in  my  mind  that 
yon  can  solre  it.  If  yon  -vrill  look  np  the 
past  of  the  native  statts  of  the  3falay 
Peninsula,  yon  ■will  find  conditions  closely 
approximating  to  those  of  the  Philippines. 
Fighting  was  incessant ;  trade  and  develoi>- 
ment  were  at  a  stand-stilL  There  is  no 
comer  of  the  world  in  which  the  develop- 
ment has  been  so  swift  and  so  perfectly 
snccessfol.  These  native  states  are  now 
prosperous  and  contented.  The  trade  has 
increased  by  leaps  and  bounds.  This  is  an 
advantage  to  us  and  to  the  rest  of  the  world. 
Piracy,  the  joy  of  the  Zlilalay  population, 
has  disappeared,  civilization  is  making 
rapid  way. 

'■  How  has  this  been  accomplished  ?  Xot 
by  troops.  Xot  by  force  in  any  form.  But 
wholly  by  a  policy  which  I  suggest  is  open 
to  you.  My  namesake  Sir  Andrew  Clarke 
inaugurated  the  policy  which  has  led  to  the 
most  astounding  results.  In  the  main  it 
consisted  by  permitting  only  native  role 
and  placing  by  the  side  of  each  native 


96      THE   OTHEE   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

ruler  a  strong  and  upright  Englishman  who 
guides  and  restrains.  .  .  .  There  is  a  small 
Sikh  police,  whose  superior  officers  only  are 
Englishmen.  That  is  the  only  force  applied, 
and  in  late  years  there  has  been  absolutely 
uninterrujited  and  yearly  increasing  pros- 
perity. As  this  is  a  small  corner  of  the 
earth,  the  facts  are  little  known  even  here, 
and  Americans  cannot  know  them. 

^'Well  here  I  am  convinced  lies  your 
solution,  and  in  some  respects  you  have  the 
ad  van  tago»  because  the  Philippines  break  up 
easily  into  geographical  groups  as  the  Malay 
states  do  not.  Aguinaldo  is  a  present  diffi- 
culty, is  he  not  ?  I  know  nothing  of  him? 
but  he  is  evidently  capable.  Make  him 
ruler  of  a  portion  of  Luzon,  with  a  fixed 
salary,  and  put  by  his  side  an  honorable 
and  strong  man.  .  .  .  You  can  find  in 
your  navy  and  army  the  few  men  of  the 
right  stamp  who  are  needed.  Our  trained 
officials  are  by  no  means  the  greatest  of  our 
successes.  A  soldier  initiated  the  present 
system  in  the  Malay  Peninsula.  Two  sailors 
proved  his  most  capable  subordinates. 

^'Do  turn  this  over  in  your  mind,  and  if 
you  can  get  the  President  to  look  into  our 
administration  of  the  Malay  states  and  its 
extraordinary  success.     Here  is  a  protec- 


THE   OTHEK    MAN's    COUNTEY.       97 

torate  in  its  best  sense,  and  it  does  not  cost 
us  a  farthing." 


President  McKinley  miglit  have 
pursued  such  a  policy  in  the  Philip- 
pines, but  he  did  not  do  so.  We  had 
a  young,  fresh,  most  hopeful  growth 
ready  to  hand  for  such  work  had  we 
desired  to  pursue  that  course.  We 
found  in  Aguinaldo  and  his  officers  a 
body  of  young  men,  many  of  them 
well  educated,  most  of  them  sincerely 
patriotic  and  enthusiastically  devoted 
to  their  country.  Had  we  treated 
these  men  with  courtesy  and  consider- 
ation, aj)proving  their  patriotic  pur- 
pose, we  could  at  once  have  firmly 
established  a  peaceful  government,  and 
have  obtained  full  popular  support  for 
it.  That  this  is  not  an  extreme  claim 
is  evident  from  the  fact  that  such  a 
government,  without  our  aid,  lasted, 
even  in  the  absence  of  such  favoring 
conditions,  for   six  months,  from  the 

7 


98      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

fall  of  Spanish  power  until  our  own 
claims  of  sovereignty  were  asserted. 
The  favorable  nature  of  the  oppor- 
tunity offered  us  was  extraordinary, 
and  is  only  equal  in  extent  to  the 
folly  which  first  neglected  it  and  then 
trampled  U]3on  it. 

Had  a  man  of  capacity  and  tact, 
possessing  the  confidence  of  the  people, 
been  charged  with  the  duty  of  effect- 
ing friendly  and  confidential  relations 
with  the  representative  leaders,  and 
of  adjusting  their  asj^irations  for  lib- 
erty and  self-government  to  the  prac- 
tical needs  of  the  situation,  the  task, 
though  not  without  its  difficulties, 
could  readily  have  been  accomplished. 
Admiral  Dewey  was  just  such  a  man. 
He  was  on  the  spot ;  he  had  the  con- 
fidence of  the  insurgents ;  he  had  a 
high  opinion  of  the  Filipinos.  This 
opinion  he  expressed  more  than  once  in 
his  despatches  to  Washington,  and  he 
evidently  expected,  from  what  he  said 


THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.       99 

in  tliem,  that  some  such  policy  was  to 
be  adopted.  He  has  expressed  the 
opinion  that  the  war  might  have  been 
prevented  by  a  competent  and  tactful 
officer  in  command.  Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Charles  A.  Whittier  has  openly 
testified  to  his  belief  that  a  little  tact 
and  courtesy  in  dealing  with  Agui- 
naldo  would  have  averted  the  war. 
He  is  reported  in  the  New  York 
Evening  Post  of  February  5,  1900,  as 
saying : 

''The  final  outbreak,  in  my  opinion,  was 
accidental  and  not  as  has  been  represented, 
a  deliberate  attempt  at  hostilities.  The 
trouble  could  all  have  been  avoided  as  I 
say,  if  we  had  been  quietly  working  on 
Aguinaldo  during  these  months  of  waiting. 
Very  likely  it  might  not  have  been  easy, 
for  Aguinaldo  had  a  good  many  impracti- 
cable ideas  at  first ;  but  with  the  reason- 
able temper  which  he  always  showed  to  me 
I  can't  think  there  could  have  been  much 
trouble.  As  it  was,  we  not  only  took  no 
trouble  to  quiet  and  conciliate  him,  but  we 


100      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY, 

passed  liiin  by.  He  told  me  I  was  the  first 
American  officer  to  meet  liim  voluntarily, 
and  his  apparent  pleasure  in  the  fact  showed 
what  might  have  been  done  in  the  way  of 
leading  him  where  we  wanted  by  giving 
him  some  outward  importance  in  the  eyes 
of  the  people." 

Why  this  policy  was  not  adopted, 
and  "why  tact  and  friendliness  were 
conspicuously  absent  in  the  treatment 
accorded  the  Filipinos  by  General 
Merritt  and  General  Otis,  is  a  ques- 
tion not  difficult,  in  part  at  least,  to 
answer.  Sufficient  tact  and  courtesy 
were  shown  towards  Aguinaldo  and 
his  people  until  we  had  obtained  what 
we  sought  by  making  use  of  them, — 
yiz.,  the  defeat  of  Spain.  Until  this 
end  was  attained  the  insurgent  chief 
was  known  as  Don  Emilio  Aguinaldo  y 
Fami,  or  General  Aguinaldo ;  but  later 
he  became  Aguinaldo,  and  later  still 
the  "  boy  in  the  street."  The  admin- 
istration  permitted  Aguinaldo  to  be 


THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.       101 

used  for  the  accomplishment  of  a  pur- 
jDOse  most  important  to  its  designs.  It 
had  either  given  orders  to  this  effect, 
which  orders  had  not  been  published  to 
the  world,  or  it  had  at  least  granted  dis- 
cretion to  Admiral  Dewey  to  act  as  he 
did.  But  from  the  moment  Manila 
fell,  and  the  S23aniards  were  driven 
out  of  the  islands,  Aguinaldo  became 
as  fatal  an  embarrassment  to  the  ad- 
ministration's ambitions  as  was  Dun- 
can to  those  of  Macbeth.  The  least 
that  could  be  done  was  to  elbow  him 
out  of  the  way.  It  would  never  do  to 
flatter  his  hopes  that  the  original 
understanding  effected  with  him  was 
to  be  carried  out.  That  meant  the 
establishment  of  a  native  government. 
The  administration  evidently  felt  that 
a  native  government  would  obstruct 
the  splendid  vision  of  the  "  illimitable 
China  trade"  to  which  its  eloquent 
apologist.  Senator  Beveridge,  has  re- 
ferred.     This    elbowing    process    is 


102      THE   OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY. 

vividly  described  by  an  American 
volunteer  who  enlisted  with  the  under- 
standing that  he  was  going  to  fight 
for  freedom,  the  purpose  originally 
announced, — not  for  the  subjection  of 
a  peoj)le  to  our  rule  who  had  just 
escaped  from  the  thraldom  of  Spain. 
He,  with  many  others,  went  through 
a  process  of  disillusion  during  the 
months  of  service  in  the  Philippines. 
The  extreme  friendliness  of  the  Fili- 
pinos at  the  time  when  our  troops  first 
landed  at  Manila  was  gradually  turned 
into  suspicion,  irritation,  and  finally 
bitter  hatred,  by  the  treatment  they 
received. 

When  Manila  fell,  the  Filipinos 
were  ordered  not  to  enter  the  city. 
But  some  of  their  officers  lodged  in 
the  better  houses  decently,  as  did  ours, 
while  some  of  their  troops  camped 
within  the  city  limits.  They  were 
required  by  General  Otis  to  march 
out,  and  to  remain  within  prescribed 


THE   OTHER    MAn's   COUNTRY.       103 

lines  outside  the  city.  This  they  did, 
though  obedience  to  this  order  inflicted 
great  humiliation  upon  them.  Still, 
they  took  it  with  sufficient  good  nature 
to  enable  them  to  shout  a  friendly 
word  as  they  j)assed  some  of  our  troops 
who  watched  them  go  by. 

The  Filipino  soldiers  asked  as  a 
favor,  in  marching  out  of  Manila,  per- 
mission to  form  on  the  Lunetta  and  to 
salute  the  spot  where  Jose  Rizal  and 
others  of  their  martyred  heroes  had 
been  executed  by  the  Spaniards.  We 
may  imagine  the  emotions  of  these 
humble,  dark-skinned  soldiers  as  they 
stood  where  the  blood  of  at  least  one 
true  man  and  patriot  had  been  cruelly 
shed.  The  heavy  yoke  of  Spain  was 
broken ;  a  great  deliverance  had  come 
through  the  new,  strong  race  from 
beyond  the  sea;  and  yet  the  soldiers 
of  that  new  power  were  already  show- 
ing a  spirit  of  arrogance,  of  contempt 
for  the  "little  brown  people,"  which 


104      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

deeply  wounded  their  pride  and  seemed 
to  cast  a  dark  shadow  over  the  path 
leading  into  the  future,  which  up  to 
that  time  had  seemed  so  bright  with 
the  sunshine  of  freedom. 

Whatever  were  the  faults  and  vices 
of  the  Filipinos,  they  were  a  temperate 
people,  and  however  much  they  hated 
and  had  cause  to  hate  the  monastic 
orders,  they  were  devout  Eoman  Cath- 
olics ;  their  lives  were  generally  moral, 
and  they  loathed  drunkenness.  But 
with  the  new-comers  came  active,  en- 
ergetic agents  of  American  brewers. 
Saloons  sprang  up  as  in  a  night, — a 
poisonous,  fungous  growth.  The  walls 
of  the  city  were  disfigured  by  their 
signs.  Their  bad  influence  upon  the 
troops  was  quickly  evident.  Drunken 
soldiers  were  not  only  repulsive  and 
unusual  objects  for  Malay  eyes  to  rest 
upon,  but  were  unpleasant  and  some- 
times dangerous  to  encounter  in  the 
streets.     Assaults  of   greater  or  less 


THE  OTHER    MAn's    COUNTRY.       105 

gravity  frequently  occurred.  On  one 
occasion  a  Filipino  fruit  girl,  a  mere 
cliilcl,  liad  her  basket  violently  kicked 
by  a  drunken  soldier  and  her  wares 
sent  flying  in  every  direction.  It  was 
not  an  uncommon  occurrence  for  a 
soldier  under  the  influence  of  liquor 
to  strike  an  inoffensive  Filipino  civil- 
ian on  the  head  with  a  beer-bottle.  It 
was  a  common  thing  for  the  rougher 
characters  among  the  soldiers  to 
"Kangaroo"  a  Filipino  fruit-vender, 
— to  jostle  him  until  his  attention  was 
attracted,  and  then  to  take  his  fruit 
without  paying  for  it.  The  testimony 
of  Rev.  Peter  MacQueen  shows  that 
assaults  on  Filipinos,  not  on  Spaniards, 
were  scandalously  frequent.  He  men- 
tions a  number  quite  unprovoked 
which  he  personally  witnessed.  Had 
the  influence  of  their  officers  generally 
been  against  such  outrages,  they  could 
not  have  happened  so  frequently.  It 
was  contempt  that  filtered  from  above 


106      THE   OTHEE   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

to  the  ranks  towards  tlie  "  niggers,"  as 
tlie  Filipinos  came  too  frequently  to  be 
called,  that  made  such  outrages  of 
frequent  occurrence.  The  Filipino 
officers,  when  coming  into  Manila,  were 
not  allowed  to  wear  their  side-arms, — a 
privilege  accorded  to  Spanish  officers, 
— nor  the  Filipino  j)rivate  soldiers  to 
retain  their  knives.  It  was  understood 
that  the  Filipino  soldiers  could  get 
their  knives  back  again  upon  returning 
to  their  camps,  but  it  was  usually  the 
case  that  by  that  time  the  knife  had 
become  a  "  souvenir,"  and  the  soldier 
who  had  possession  of  it  could  not  be 
found,  or  at  least  could  not  be  identi- 
fied.* These  things  burned  deeply 
into  the  hearts  of  the  people,  but  the 
Peace  Commission  do  not  seem  to 
have  heard  of  them,  for  they  do  not 
mention  them  in  their  report. 


*  Statement    of      Abram    L.    Mumper, 
Greeley,  Colorado. 


THE    OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.       107 

What  judicial  mind  could  afford  to 
neglect  such  incidents  in  reaching  a 
just  estimate  of  the  situation?  Or 
what  people,  whether  barbarous  or 
highly  civilized,  could  have  avoided 
the  conflict  which  ultimately  came 
between  the  Filipinos  and  our  troops  ? 
And  yet  for  that  conflict,  which  finally 
broke  out  on  the  night  of  February  4, 
1899,  the  Filipinos  cannot  be  justly 
blamed,  as  the  American  people  have 
very  generally  supposed. 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  conflict  is  to  be  found 
in  General  Otis's  order  requiring  the 
Nebraska  regiment  to  advance  its  lines 
within  territory  that  the  Filipinos 
could  fairly  consider  theirs.  The  pro- 
tocol gave  us  the  right  to  occupy  the 
bay,  harbor,  and  city  of  Manila, — 
nothing  beyond, — and  the  protocol 
remained  in  force  until  the  Peace 
Treaty  was  passed  by  the  Senate, 
signed  by  the  President,  and  its  ratifi- 


108      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

cation  had  been  exclianged  by  tlie 
Spanish  Government,  which  occurred 
April  11.  The  Senate  passed  the 
treaty  February  6,  and  the  President 
signed  it  February  10.  The  war 
broke  out  February  4.  General  Otis 
clearly  was  not  justified  in  advancing 
his  military  lines  beyond  the  actual 
limits  of  Manila  until  after  the  treaty 
was  ratified  and  the  exchange  of  that 
ratification  with  S|)ain  had  taken  place. 
To  do  so  showed  a  complete  disregard 
for  the  rights  of  the  Filipinos,  and 
seems  to  establish  the  fact  that  we 
were  quite  willing,  if  not  anxious,  to 
provoke  a  conflict  with  them. 

We  learn  from  General  Otis's  re- 
port that  he  wished  General  Miller's 
forces  to  attack  Iloilo  on  the  7th  of 
February  for  certain  "  overmastering 
political  reasons."  He  says  (page 
103): 

''The  territory  was  no  longer  Spain's, 
but  we  still  hesitated  to  take  decisive  action, 


THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.       109 

for  fear  of  provoking  tlie  insurgents,  or 
really  giving  tliem  the  excuse  to  attack  us 
which  they  desired.  Kow  this  last  obstacle 
had  been  removed  by  their  determined  on- 
slaughts on  Manila,  and  it  was  very  impor- 
tant, for  overmastering  ])olitical  reasons,  to 
take  possession  of  these  southern  ports,  through 
force  or  otherwise,  as  circumstances  might  de- 
mand. .  .  .  We  .  .  .  concluded  that  exigen- 
cies compelled  us  to  clear  up  the  field  which 
we  were  confronting  at  Iloilo."  [Author's 
italics.] 

These  "  overmastering  political 
reasons"  doubtless  existed  previously, 
and  they  may  have  prompted  throw- 
ing the  Nebraska  troops  within  Fili- 
pino boundaries,  which,  in  view  of  the 
irritation  and  tension  already  existing, 
would  be  almost  certain  to  provoke  a 
conflict.  In  the  absence  of  any  ex- 
plicit information  upon  the  nature  of 
these  "  political  reasons,"  we  can  only 
surmise  that  they  are  to  be  found  in 
the  President's  wish  to  get  the  Peace 
Treaty    ratified.     If   so,    a    ruthless 


110      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

massacre  of  Filipinos  was  the  means 
deliberately  chosen  for  effecting  politi- 
cal ends  in  Washington.  General 
Otis  was  well  aware  of  how  positively 
the  Filipinos  objected  to  this  advance 
of  the  American  lines,  for  it  had  been 
made  the  subject  of  correspondence 
between  Aguinaldo  and  himself 

In  reference  to  the  question  whether 
Santa  Mesa  is  located  within  or  be- 
yond the  limits  of  Manila,  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  correspondence 
between  Aguinaldo  and  General  Otis 
are  interesting.  A  valuable  editorial 
appeared  in  the  Springfield  Republican 
of  January  31,  1900,  on  this  subject. 
The  following  is  a  quotation  from  it : 

"When  General  Otis  succeeded  General 
Merritt  as  commander  of  the  United  States 
forces  in  the  PhilipiDines  in  August,  1898, 
a  correspondence  between  General  Merritt 
and  Aguinaldo,  concerning  the  proper  loca- 
tion of  the  American  military  lines  around 
Manila,  was  well  advanced,  but  still  pend- 


THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.       Ill 

ing ;  and  the  final  negotiations  thereupon 
devolved  upon  General  Otis.  After  parley- 
ing, the  Filipinos  retired  beyond  the  lines 
insisted  upon  by  General  Otis,  with  an  ex- 
ception or  two,  including  Pandacan.  Gen- 
eral Otis,  desiring  to  hold  Pandacan  because 
of  its  obvious  military  value,  threatened 
on  October  14,  1898,  to  use  military  force  to 
drive  the  Filipino  army  out  of  the  town, 
writing  an  ultimatum  to  Aguinaldo  as  fol- 
lows : 

'"I  must  request  such  withdrawal  on 
or  before  the  20th  instant,  else  I  shall  be 
forced  into  some  action  looking  to  that  end.^ 

''Aguinaldo  on  October  22  thus  replied 
to  General  Otis : 

''  'General, — In  view  of  your  favor  of 
the  14th  instant,  I  consulted  the  opinions 
of  my  generals  and  advisory  council,  and  I 
have  appointed  Dr.  Pardo  de  Tavera,  in 
order  that  he  might  place  before  you  the 
wishes  of  all,  as  he  did  on  the  18th.  Said 
commissioners,  upon  giving  me  an  account 
of  your  wishes,  told  me  that  you  had  con- 
sented to  postpone  the  ultimatum  for  the 
withdrawal  of  our  troops  until  the  25th, 
and  the  retention  by  our  forces  of  the  block- 
house situated  on  the  line  shown  on  the 
blue  map,  which  you  sent  me  with  said 


112      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

letter,  but  had  not  acceded  to  tlie  desires  of 
the  Philippine  people  that  my  forces  con- 
tinue to  occuj)y  Pandacan.  Relative  to  the 
latter  point,  I  take  the  liberty  of  telling 
you  that  your  predecessor,  General  Merritt, 
understood  that  the  American  forces  only 
ought  to  occupy,  according  to  the  terms  of 
the  capitulation  of  Manila,  the  city  and 
its  environs, — i.e.,  Binondo,  Tondo,  Santa 
Cruz,  Quiapo,  Sampaloc,  San  Miguel,  Con- 
cepcion,  Ermita,  Malate,  and  Paco,  or  San 
Fernando  de  Dilao,  and  thus  he  clearly  puts 
it  in  his  letter  of  August  20  last.  The  town 
of  Pandacan  has  always  been  considered 
outside  of  the  old  municipal  limits  of 
Manila,  which  the  general  himself  mentions 
in  said  letter,  and  I  hope  your  high  sense 
of  judgment  will  see  it  thus.  Nevertheless, 
I  understand  that  your  forces  are  already 
occupying  Uli-Uli,  Nactahan,  and  Santa 
Mesa  districts,  which,  although  belonging 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  Pandacan,  they  can 
continue  to  do,  in  order  to  prevent  the  con- 
tinual encounters  with  mine  which  cause 
disagreeable  incidents.' 

'^  On  the  25th,  in  resxDonse  to  General 
Otis' s  ultimatum,  which  was  a  threat  of 
war,  the  Filipino  trooi)S  were  withdrawn 
from  Pandacan.    That  they  withdrew,  how- 


THE    OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY.       113 

ever,  ^ith  a  feeling  of  wrath  and  outraged 
justice  cannot  be  doubted,  for  General 
Otis  liimself,  tAvo  days  after  their  ^ritli- 
drawal,  in  a  letter  to  Aguinaldo,  admitted 
that  Aguinaldo' s  statements  as  to  Pandacan 
were  well  founded.  Otis  wrote  him  (pages 
20,  21)  : 

'^'I  have  referred  to  General  Merritt's 
letter  of  August  20,  which  you  mention, 
and  find  that  it  is  as  you  state.  ...  I  have 
been  led  to  believe  that  it  (Pandacan)  has, 
of  late,  been  considered  out  of  the  city's 
suburbs,  although  we  have  been  unable  to 
find  any  Spanish  decree  which  fixes  its 
status  with  definiteness.' 

^'Here  is  Otis  admitting  to  Aguinaldo 
that  General  Merritt  has  considered  Panda- 
can as  beyond  the  limits  of  the  city  of 
Manila,  or  its  suburbs,  or  its  defences.  And 
here  he  is,  also,  admitting  that  he  could 
find  no  Spanish  authority  for  considering 
the  town  as  one  of  the  city  suburbs.  With 
Merritt  agreeing  with  Aguinaldo  and  Otis 
unable  to  sustain  his  course  by  any  Spanish 
authority,  what  is  the  reasonable  conclusion 
regarding  Pandacan  I 

"It  was  in  that  region,  which  the  Fili- 
pinos never  could  have  regarded  as  justly 
or  legally  held  by  the  United  States,  that  a 
8 


114      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

Stray  insurgent,  lieedless  of  the  challenge 
of  a  I^ebraska  sentry,  was  shot  on  February 
4,  1899.    And  thus  the  war  began.     In  this 
same  report  by  General  Otis  there  is  fresh 
evidence,  to  be  referred  to  later  on,  that  no 
assault  on  the  American  lines  was  premedi- 
tated by  the  Filipinos  that  fateful  night, 
but  in  this  article  the  Bepuhlican  confines  its 
analysis  of  the  report  to  this   contention 
alone  :  That  the  troops  commanded  by  Gen- 
eral Otis  had  no  right,  under  the  peace 
protocol,  to  be  in  occupation  of  the  region 
where  the  clash  between  the  two  armies 
finally  came.    The  unpremeditated  encoun- 
ter came  on  territory  which  Otis  had  seized 
by  force,  without  lawful  warrant,  and  which 
Merritt    himself    had    conceded    was    not 
within  American  jurisdiction.     These  are 
facts  to  remember,  for  they  have  a  bearing 
upon  the  historical  phases  of  the  imperial- 
istic controversy." 


General  C.  McC.  Eeeve,  promoted 
from  colonel  of  the  Minnesota  regi- 
ment for  bravery,  and  who  was  provost- 
marshal  of  Manila  at  the  time  of  the 
outbreak  in  February,  1899,  said  in  an 


THE  OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.       115 

interview  in  Minneapolis  about  April 
24,  1899 : 

"I  can  tell  you  one  piece  of  news  that  is 
not  generally  known  in  the  United  States. 
On  Sunday,  February  5,  the  day  after  the 
fighting  began,  General  Torres,  of  the  in- 
surgents, came  through  our  lines  under  a 
flag  of  truce,  and  had  a  personal  interview 
with  General  Otis,  in  which,  speaking  for 
Aguinaldo,  he  declared  that  the  fighting  had 
been  begun  accidentally  and  was  not  author- 
ized by  Aguinaldo  ;  that  Aguinaldo  wished 
to  have  it  stopped,  and  that  to  bring  about 
a  conclusion  of  hostilities  he  proposed  the 
establishment  of  a  neutral  zone  between  the 
two  armies  of  any  width  that  would  be 
agreeable  to  General  Otis,  so  that  during 
the  peace  negotiations  there  might  be  no 
^-further  danger  of  conflicts  between  the  two 
armies.  To  these  representations  of  Gen- 
eral Torres  General  Otis  sternly  replied 
that  the  fighting  having  once  begun  must 
go  on  to  the  grim  end.  And  it  has  been 
going  on  ever  since." 

General  Otis,  in  response  to  an  in- 
quiry, made  through  a  resolution  of 


116      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

the  United  States  Senate,  cabled  May 
1,  1900,  a  reply  in  explanation  of  his 
alleged  refusal  of  Aguiualdo's  over- 
tures for  peace  made  immediately  after 
the  outbreak  of  hostilities  on  February 
4, 1899.  The  despatch  from  Adjutant- 
General  Corbin  making  the  inquiry 
and  General  Otis's  reply  answering  it 
are  given  herewith.  In  the  estimation 
of  the  author.  General  Otis's  reply  is 
unsatisfactory,  and  it  is  contradictory 
of  a  former  important  despatch  sent 
by  him  immediately  after  the  event 
in  dis23ute  occurred.  For  his  present 
despatch  to  be  strictly  true  and  there- 
fore to  have  weight,  his  earlier  one 
must  have  been  essentially  untrue  and, 
therefore,  valueless.  In  his  despatch 
of  February  8,  1899,  General  Otis 
reported,  without  qualification,  that 
Aguinaldo  *'  now  applies  for  cessation 
of  hostilities  and  conference.  Have 
declined  to  answer."  Herein  General 
Otis  himself  corroborated  the  essential 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTEY.       117 

part  of  General  C.  McC.  Reeve's  state- 
ment showing  that  Aguinaldo's  over- 
tures for  peace  immediately  upon  the 
outbreak  of  hostilities  had  been  re- 
jected. That  is  the  essential  point, 
which,  being  established,  places  so  ter- 
rible a  load  of  responsibility  on  the 
shoulders  of  General  Otis  and  the 
administration.  But  in  his  despatch 
of  May  1,  1900,  General  Otis  says  of 
his  earlier  one  that  it  was  "  hasty"  and 
"misleading."  Does  he  wish  us  to  infer 
from  this  that  its  important  statement 
of  fact,  concerning  Aguinaldo's  appli- 
cation for  a  cessation  of  hostilities  and 
his  refusal  to  grant  it,  is  false  ?  If  he 
does  not  wish  us  to  draw  this  inference, 
what  are  we  to  infer  ?  The  least  that 
we  can  do  is  to  discredit  him  as  a  wit- 
ness. He  certainly  discredits  himself. 
"We  are  the  more  led  to  this  conclusion 
when  we  recall  the  fact  that  General 
Otis  is  the  author  of  despatches  run- 
ning through  the  period  of  at  least  a 


118   THE  OTHER  MAN  S  COUNTRY. 

year  assuring  the  public  that  the  Phil- 
ippine insurrection  was  on  the  eve  of 
collapse,  or  actually  over,  when  in 
reality  it  has  continued  up  to  this 
moment  (August,  1900). 

Adjutant-General's  Office, 
Washington,  D.  C,  April  30,  1900. 
To  Otis,  Manila: 

Cable  wlietlier  General  Torres  came  to 
you  under  flag  of  truce,  February  5,  1899, 
and  stated  Aguinaldo  declared  fighting  had 
begun  accidentally  and  not  authorized  by 
him ;  that  Aguinaldo  wished  it  stopped, 
and  to  end  hostilities  proposed  establish- 
ment of  neutral  zone  between  the  two 
armies  of  width  agreeable  to  you,  so  during 
peace  negotiations  there  might  be  no  further 
danger  of  conflict.  Whether  you  replied 
fighting  having  begun,  must  go  on  to  grim 
end. 

CORBIN. 

The    following    is    General    Otis's 
reply : 

Manila,  May  1,  1900. 
Adjutant- General  War,  Washington: 

Judge  Torres,  citizen  resident  of  Manila, 
who  had  served  as  member  insurgent  com- 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.      119 

mission,  reported  evening  February  5,  ask- 
ing if  sometliing  could  not  be  done  to  stop 
the  fighting  and  establishment  of  neutral 
zone.  I  replied  Aguinaldo  had  commenced 
the  fighting  and  must  apply  for  cessation. 
I  had  nothing  to  request  from  insurgent 
government.  He  asked  permission  to  send 
Colonel  Arguellez  to  Malolos,  and  Arguellez 
was  passed  through  lines  near  Caloocan 
next  morning.  He  went  direct  to  Malolos, 
told  General  Aguinaldo  and  Mabini  that 
General  Otis  would  permit  suspension  of 
hostilities  upon  their  request.  They  re- 
plied declaration  of  war  had  been  made,  a 
copy  of  which  they  furnished  him.  They 
said  they  had  no  objection  to  suspension  of 
hostilities,  but  beyond  this  general  remark 
made  no  response,  but  directed  him  to 
return  with  that  message.  Arguellez  re- 
ported that  he  conveyed  my  statement ; 
that  they  had  commenced  the  war,  and  it 
must  go  on,  since  they  had  chosen  that 
course  of  action,  but  did  not  attempt  to  in- 
duce them  to  make  any  proposition,  as  he 
feared  accusation  of  cowardice.  The  insur- 
gent chief  authorities  made  no  proposition 
and  did  not  intend  to  make  any,  nor  did 
they  attempt  to  do  so  until  driven  out  of 
Malolos.     My  hasty  despatch  of  about  that 


120      THE   OTHEK   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

date  misleading.  Look  in  writing  state- 
ment of  Arguellez  several  days  ago  in 
order  to  fully  understand  temper  of  insur- 
gents at  early  period  of  war. 

Lieutenant  Martin  E.  Tew,  of  the 
Minnesota  regiment  of  volunteers,  who 
was  since  a  member  of  General  Otis's 
staff,  published  a  letter  in  the  Minne- 
apolis Times,  in  which  he  quotes  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Zialcita,  major  of  cav- 
alry in  the  Filipino  army,  as  follows : 

''The  Filipinos  never  had  the  slightest 
intention  of  attacking  the  Americans,  be- 
cause we  had  been  assured  by  them  that 
they  were  our  friends  and  allies.  As  a 
proof  of  the  statement  that  it  was  not  a 
premeditated  attack,  I  cite  the  facts  that 
on  the  same  evening  many  of  Aguinaldo's 
adjutants  and  officers  were  in  Manila. 
Some  had  returned  to  Malolos  on  the  last 
evening  train,  and  others,  as  you  know, 
remained  in  the  city  and  were  held  by  you 
as  prisoners  of  war." 

President  McKinley  could  not  have 
read  General  C.  McC.  Eeeve's  state- 


THE   OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY.       121 

ment,  nor  General  Otis's  report  touch- 
ing this  point.  General  Otis  admits 
that  he  "  does  not  think  the  insurgents 
intended  to  attack  at  this  time,"  for  he 
says  in  his  message  :  "  The  aggressions 
of  the  Filipinos  continually  increased, 
until  finally,  just  before  the  time  set  by 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States  for  a 
vote  upon  the  treaty, ^^ — (Author's  ital- 
ics.) (The  reader  should  here  note  that 
General  Otis  reported  thai  there  were 
"  overmastering  'political  reasons''^  why 
we  should  attack  Iloilo  at  precisely  this 
time) — "  a7i  attack  evidently  prepared 
in  advance  was  made  all  along  the 
American  lines,"^  etc. 

Aguinaldo  had  protested  against  the 
forward  movement,  arguing  that  it  was 
unwarranted.  He  pointed  out  the  fact 
that  Santa  Mesa,  where  the  Nebraska 
regiment  was  stationed,  lay  beyond  the 
limits  prescribed  by  the  protocol.  Gen- 
eral Otis  at  first  disputed  this  claim, 
but  finally  virtually  admitted  its  jus- 


122      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

tice.  Why,  then,  did  he  not  withdraw 
his  troops,  supposing  that  he  did  not 
desire  to  begin  war  ?  We  find  no  sat- 
isfactory answer  to  this  question.  The 
conclusion  is  irresistible  that  the  ad- 
ministration had  determined  to  obtain 
full  possession  of  the  islands  in  ad- 
vance of  the  ratification  of  the  treaty, 
and  even  at  the  cost  of  war  provoked 
by  it.  To  advance  our  lines  and  then 
hold  them  at  a  point  which  Aguinaldo 
showed  we  had  no  right  to  occupy  was 
a  clear  indication  that  it  was  the  Presi- 
dent's policy  to  provoke  a  conflict. 
Otherwise,  why  were  constitutional 
rights  and  moral  rights  not  considered 
in  dealing  with  the  Filipino  leaders 
whom  we  had  called  into  the  islands  to 
aid  us  in  driving  out  the  Spaniards? 
The  official  acts  of  the  President,  while 
expressed  in  the  smoothest  and  most 
benevolent  phraseology,  in  their  sub- 
stance and  intent  meant  war ;  while  in 
the  neglect  of  the  Filipino  leaders  by 


THE  OTHER  MAN's  COUNTRY.   123 

our  military  leaders,  and  in  the  con- 
tempt shown  the  Filipino  people  by 
our  troops,  as  well  as  in  the  constant 
pressing  back  of  the  Filipino  lines,  are 
to  be  found  all  the  necessary  addi- 
tional causes  which  conspired  to  bring 
war. 

The  fight  which  opened  the  war,  and 
which  occurred  on  the  night  of  Feb- 
ruary 4,  came  about  in  this  way :  It 
was  claimed  by  the  Filipinos  that  our 
line  which  Grayson  patrolled  at  Santa 
Mesa  extended  into  their  territory. 
On  the  morning  of  February  4,  when 
Private  Grayson,  of  the  Nebraska 
regiment,  went  on  duty,  a  Filipino 
officer  had  words  with  him  about  the 
position  of  our  line,  objecting  to  it,  and 
threatening  that  if  the  Americans  did 
not  move  back  many  of  them  might 
be  killed.  The  Filipino  officer  spoke 
in  Spanish,  and  Grayson  thought  he 
had  been  drinking.     It  was  a  wrangle. 

Later  in  the   day  Colonel  Stotsen- 


124      THE   OTHER   MAn'S   COUNTRY. 

Surg,  of  tlie  Nebraska  regiment,  who 
was  killed  in  battle  later  in  the  war, 
passed  by.  On  being  appealed  to  con- 
cerning the  line,  he  advised  its  exten- 
sion still  farther  in  the  direction  of 
the  Filipino  position.  This  was  done' 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  those 
Filipinos  who  saw  our  advance  waved 
their  arms  and  guns  in  protest.  All 
this  occurred  near  Block-House  No.  7. 
The  Nebraska  regiment,  posted  on  the 
high  ground  at  Santa  Mesa,  was  about 
one  mile  in  advance  of  the  lines  held 
by  the  rest  of  our  troops.  And  it  now 
appears  this  point  was  beyond  the 
limits  assigned  the  United  States  under 
the  terms  of  the  protocol,  which  only 
gave  us  the  right  to  occupy  the  bay, 
harbor,  and  city  of  Manila.  At  eight 
o'clock  in  the  evening  Grayson  was 
again  on  guard,  when  near  him  the 
same  Filipino  officer,  who  had  disputed 
with  him  in  the  morning,  endeavored 
to  cross  the  American  lines.     Grayson 


THE   OTHER    MAn's    COUNTRY.       125 

stated  to  A.  L.  Mumper*  that  he 
challenged  the  Filipino  twice,  calling, 
"Halt!  Halt!"  The  man  answered, 
"Alto,  alto,"  presumably  in  con- 
tempt. Grayson  then  fired,  killing 
him.  He  then  retired  to  Block-House 
No.  7,  and  reported  to  the  sergeant  on 
duty  there  what  he  had  done.  He 
was  sent  back  to  the  line  with  a  squad 

*  Mr.  Abram  L.  Mumper  was  a  member 
of  Company  H,  First  Idalio  Eegiment. 
He  took  part  in  the  assault  on  Manila, 
August  13,  1898;  also  in  the  battle  of 
Manila,  February  4  and  5,  1899.  In  this 
latter  action  he  served  under  General  Kinsr. 
who  led  the  charge  upon  the  insurgent 
stronghold.  He  was  also  in  the  fight  at 
Caloocan,  February  9,  upon  this  occasion 
serving  with  the  Twentieth  Kansas.  Later 
he  took  part  in  the  first  battle  before 
Malabon,  February  10,  and  in  several  skir- 
mishes on  the  south  line  between  San  Pedro 
Macati  and  Passay.  The  author  has  re- 
ceived the  strongest  testimonials  as  to  Mr. 
Mumper's  high  character,  reliability,  and 
accuracy  as  a  witness. 


126      THE   OTHER    MAN's   COUNTRY. 

of  men.  Two  or  three  more  Filipinos 
were  found  crossing  tlie  line.  Our 
soldiers  fired  upon  them,  either  killing 
or  wounding  some.  This  occurred,  ac- 
cording to  Grayson's  statement,  about 
fifteen  minutes  after  the  first  shot  had 
been  fired.  This  encounter  was  fol- 
lowed by  general  firing  from  the  Fili- 
pino lines.  Bat  it  is  evident  that  no 
attack  had  been  anticipated  by  them, 
and  that  their  assault  on  us  was  nat- 
urally provoked  by  the  shooting  of 
their  men.  Private  Grayson  was,  of 
course,  simply  acting  under  orders. 
Grayson  also  told  Abram  L.  Mumper 
on  board  the  transport  "  Hancock,"  as 
the  former's  regiment  was  about  to  sail 
for  the  United  States,  that  it  was  ''  the 
damned  bull-headedness"  of  the  ofiicers 
in  invading  insurgent  territory  that 
was  responsible  for  the  firing  of  his 
shot.  The  circumstances  seem  to  favor 
the  belief  that  our  authorities  intended 
to  provoke  a  conflict  if  they  found  it 


THE  OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.      127 

impossible  otherwise  to  disembarrass 
themselves  of  the  native  de  facto 
government.  It  was,  no  doubt,  sup- 
posed that  the  struggle  would  be  of 
very  short  duration.  By  making  the 
war  "hell"  for  the  insurgents, — that 
was  the  current  term, — it  was  expected 
that  they  would  submit  to  American 
rule  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  when 
the  process  of  "benevolent  assimila- 
tion"   would    begin.*     There    was    a 

*  The  version  which  is  here  given  of  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  is  that  which  was 
given  the  author  by  Abram  L.  Mumper,  of 
Greeley,  Colorado,  an  honorably  discharged 
volunteer,  who  served  in  the  Philippines. 
The  author  has  fully  satisfied  himself  of 
Mr.  Mumper's  good  character  and  reliabil- 
ity of  statement.  Eeaders  who  wish  to 
assure  themselves  further  on  this  point  can 
do  so  by  addressing  Abram  L.  Mumper, 
Greeley,  Colorado.  Mr.  Mumper  can  give 
the  most  satisfactory  reference  from  promi- 
nent citizens  in  his  locality  as  to  his  stand- 
ing   and    character.      During    some    two 


128      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

general  feeling  of  contempt  for  the 
natives,  expressed  in  the  term  "nig- 
gers," which  was  used  by  our  officers, 
in  some  instances  at  least,  as  well  as 
by  the  privates.  It  was  doubtless  this 
feeling  of  contempt,  so  natural  to  the 
Anglo-Saxon  in  his  relations  with  a 
dark-skinned  and  weaker  race,  and  the 
hope  that  fighting  might  be  soon  ended 
by  making  it  fierce  for  the  time,  which 
led  to  so  much  looting  and  to  some 
atrocities  that  in  the  beginning  of  the 
war  were  indulged  in  by  our  troops. 
Looting  to  any  great  extent  would  not 
have  occurred  if  the  officers  had  set 
their  faces  against  it.     Our  troops  did 

months  of  tlie  i)ast  winter  the  author  was 
in  almost  daily  contact  with  Mr.  Mumper. 
He  takes  this  occasion  to  express  gratitude 
for  the  large  amount  of  valuable  informa- 
tion received  from  him,  and  to  record  his 
conviction  of  Mr.  Mumper's  entire  sin- 
cerity, deep,  unselfish  patriotism,  and  prac- 
tical common  sense. 


THE   OTHER   MAn's    COUNTRY.       129 

not  loot  from  the  Spaniards,  although 
they  had  the  chance  to  do  so.  They 
fully  respected  private  property  in 
Manila.  Why,  then,  did  they  not 
show  equal  restraint  in  those  fights 
which  took  place  immediately  after 
the  4th  of  February  ? 

Mr.  John  F.  Bass,  the  Philippine 
correspondent  of  Harpe/s  Weekly,  re- 
fers to  this  matter  in  a  letter  pub- 
lished during  the  summer  of  1899. 
He  says : 

"The  plan  for  crushing  the  insurrection 
has  varied  in  policy  from  time  to  time. 
Pasig,  the  second  largest  town  in  Luzon, 
was  looted  and  burned ;  the  villages  for 
miles  along  the  southern  shore  of  Laguna 
de  Bay  were  laid  waste.  The  barbarous 
native  should  be  taught  how  terrible  war 
waged  by  American  soldiers  was.  Then 
came  a  x)eriod  when  sometimes  a  town  was 
burned  and  sometimes  it  was  not,  no  plan 
being  apparently  followed.  The  insurgents 
are  a  good  deal  like  children,  and  they  imitated 
us;  instead  of  leaving  their  towns  for  us  to 
9 


130      THE   OTHER   MAN  S    COUNTRY. 

hum,  they  iurned  them  themselves,  [Author's 
italics.] 

The  town  of  Guiguinto  I  saw  set  on  fire 
by  our  men  and  burn  up,  no  steps  being 
taken  to  ijunisli  the  offenders.  The  height 
of  the  ridiculous  was  reached  when  Malolos, 
the  next  town,  five  miles  up  the  railroad, 
was  captured.  Here  the  utmost  care  was 
taken  by  our  officers  to  protect  property  ;  a 
brigadier-general  rode  into  town  and  ex- 
claimed dramatically  that  the  honor  of  the 
United  States  required  that  our  conduct 
should  contrast  with  that  of  the  insurgents. 
The  latter  burned  and  pillaged,  while  we 
protected  property  and  the  rights  of  the 
people." 

p^  ^  *I*  •!>  'I^  'i^  ^^  ^ 

''There  has  been  a  great  hue  and  cry 
raised  because  the  insurgents  mutilated  two 
of  our  dead  by  cutting  off  their  ears,  and 
yet  one  or  two  of  our  scouts  made  a  practice 
of  cutting  off  the  ears  of  the  iusui-gents  they 
killed  and  preserving  them  as  trophies. 
Needless  to  say,  this  custom,  when  dis- 
covered, was  stopped  by  the  officers.  Out- 
rages on  either  side  I  believe  to  be  isolated 
cases,  with  the  honors  fairly  divided.  There 
are  bad  men  in  every  army." 


THE  OTHER  MAN's  COUNTRY.   131 

Mr.  Eobert  M.  Collins,  the  Philip- 
pine corresjoondent  of  the  Associated 
Press,  wrote  Mr.  Melville  E.  Stone,  Gen- 
eral Manager,  under  date  of  July  30, 
1899,  describing  the  circumstances 
which  led  to  the  protest  of  the  news- 
paper representatives  against  the  cen- 
soring of  news  by  General  Otis.  Ex- 
tracts from  this  letter  are  given  as 
follows : 

''But  when  General  Otis  came  down  in  the 
frank  admission  that  it  was  not  intended  so 
much  to  prevent  the  newspapers  from  giving 
information  and  assistance  to  the  enemy  (the 
legitimate  function,  and  according  to  our 
view,  the  only  legitimate  one  of  a  censor- 
ship), but  to  keep  the  knowledge  of  condi- 
tions here  from  the  public  at  home,  and 
when  the  censor  had  repeatedly  told  us,  in 
ruling  out  plain  statements  of  undisputed 
facts,  'My  instructions  are  to  let  nothing 
go  that  can  hurt  the  administration,'  we 
concluded  that  protest  was  justifiable. 

"Three  hours  of  exceedingly  plain  talk 
followed.     The  general  did  not  contradict 


132      THE    OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY. 

our  statements  that  tlie  purpose  of  tlie  cen- 
sorship was  to  keep  the  facts  from  the  pub- 
lic, but  said  that  what  we  wanted  was  to 
have  the  people  stirred  up  and  to  make 
sensations  for  the  papers.  We  told  him 
that  there  had  never  been  any  subject  fur- 
nishing more  good  material  for  sensations 
than  this  war,  and  that  he  should  be  exceed- 
ingly grateful  to  the  papers  handling  it  so 
temperately. 

'^In  that  connection  we  reminded  him 
that  the  stories  of  looting  in  soldiers'  letters 
home  had  been  little,  if  any,  exaggerated. 
Davis  and  Bass  told  him  that  they  had  per- 
sonally seen  our  soldiers  bayoneting  the 
wounded  ;  and  I  reminded  him  that  the  cut- 
ting off  of  the  ears  of  two  American  soldiers 
at  Dasmarinas  had  been  merely  retaliation 
for  similar  mutilations  of  dead  Filipinos  by 
the  Americans.  (No  one  could  possibly  tell 
stronger  stories  of  the  looting  and  black- 
mailing of  our  soldiers  than  Otis  has  told, 
although  he  charges  it  all  to  the  volunteers.) 

"We  told  him  that  we  had  refrained  from 
sending  these  things  and  others  of  similar 
nature  because  we  did  not  wish  to  make 
sensations.  We  told  him  that  the  censor- 
ship was  purely  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
the   impression  at  home  that  everything 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.      133 

was  lovely  here,  otherwise  he  would  sup- 
press the  local  papers  which  print  all  sorts 
of  clippings  from  American  papers,  de- 
nouncing the  administration,  and  which 
kept  the  enemy  posted  on  the  position  of 
every  company  in  our  army,  and  even  give 
advance  notice  of  intended  movements. 

''Eecently  I  filed  what  I  thought  a  most 
inoffensive  statement  that  the  business  men 
who  had  appeared  before  the  Commission 
had  advocated  the  retention  of  the  existing 
silver  system  of  currency.  The  censor  said, 
'  I  ought  not  to  let  that  go.  That  would  be 
a  lift  for  Bryan.  My  instructions  are  to 
shut  off  everything  that  could  hurt  McKin- 
ley's  administration.  That  is  free  silver.' 
I  explained  that  the  silver  system  here  was 
not  16  to  1,  and  with  seeming  reluctance  he 
O.K.'d  the  item." 

Keaders  wlio  desire  to  make  critical 
examination  of  the  alleged  shooting 
of  Filipino  prisoners  at  the  battle  of 
Caloocan  are  referred  to  an  interesting 
statement  on  this  subject  which  ap- 
pears in  a  letter  to   the  Springfield 


134      THE   OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY. 

Republican,  December  12,  1899,  from 
Edmund  Boltwood,  late  captain  Twen- 
tietli  Kansas  Infantry,  U.S.V.  This 
was  written  from  Ottawa,  Kansas,  and 
bears  date  December  6,  1899. 

A.  L.  Mumper  testifies  on  tbis  point 
as  follows : 

*'It  kept  leaking  down  from  sources 
above  that  tlie  Filipinos  were  '  niggers ;' 
no  better  than  Indians,  and  were  to  be 
treated  as  such.  Whether  this  policy  came 
from  Washington  or  was  born  in  the  minds 
of  the  ambitious  officers  who  had  not  yet 
gained  enough  glory,  I  cannot  say.  But  I 
can  say  that  on  more  than  one  battle-field 
they  were  treated  like  Indians.  At  Caloo- 
can  I  saw  natives  shot  down  that  could 
have  been  taken  prisoners,  and  the  whole 
country  around  Manila  set  ablaze  with  ap- 
parently no  other  object  than  to  teach  the 
natives  submission  by  showing  them  that 
with  the  Americans  war  was  hell." 

The  original  correspondent  of  the 
New  York  Evening  Post,  Mr.  H.  L. 
Wells  (a  volunteer),  while  he  denies 


THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.       135 

that  the  killing  of  prisoners  occurred, 
treats  at  great  length  the  question  of 
looting  and  the  appropriation  of  private 
property.  This  was  indulged  in  to  a 
shameful  extent  not  only  by  the  rank 
and  file,  but  by  many  volunteer  officers. 
Mr.  Wells  says  in  a  letter  to  the 
Evening  Post,  published  July  20, 
1899: 

"As  I  said  before,  every  house  was 
entered,  and  if  anytliing  had  been  left  by 
the  former  occupants  it  was  thoroughly 
overhauled.  Clothing  was  snatched  out 
of  bureaus  and  scattered  over  the  floor  in 
search  of  valuables.  Boxes  were  broken 
open.  Suspicious  mounds  in  back  yards 
were  dug  into.  Cisterns  were  probed  and 
bamboo  thickets  were  inspected.  Often 
caches  of  clothing,  crockery,  books,  etc., 
were  discovered,  and  their  contents  scat- 
tered in  the  search  for  valuables,  very  few 
of  which  were  found.  Probably  the  two 
richest  places,  because  the  most  hastily 
abandoned,  were  the  cities  of  Pasig  and 
Malabon.  I  was  in  Pasig  the  day  after  its 
capture,  and  at  that  time  there  was  not  a 


136      THE    OTHER    MAn's   COUNTRY. 

house  that  had  not  been  ransacked.  It  was 
current  rumor  that  several  sums  of  money 
had  been  found,  one  soldier  having  dis- 
covered about  $1500.  I  was  told  by  a 
saloon-keeper  in  Manila  a  few  days  later 
that  several  soldiers  had  exhibited  con- 
siderable rolls  of  Filipino  paper  money. 
However,  such  things  must  be  chiefly  con- 
jecture, since  a  soldier  finding  money 
would  keep  very  quiet  about  it  for  his  own 
protection.  Only  a  few  cases  of  such  finds 
have  come  under  my  personal  observation, 
and  in  those  the  amounts  were  small. 
There  were  a  number  of  houses  in  Pasig 
belonging  to  wealthy  j^ersons,  and  it  may 
well  be  that  articles  worth  carrying  off 
were  found.  I  know  that  the  floors  were 
covered  with  clothing,  much  of  it  expen- 
sive goods,  that  had  been  thrown  from 
wardrobes.  In  one  house  I  waded  knee- 
deep  in  elegant  gowns  of  silk,  satin,  and 
piiia  cloth.  The  condition  of  affairs  in 
Malabon  was  much  the  same,  and  in  every 
town  entered  by  our  troops  until  the  past 
month,  when  the  appointment  of  a  provost- 
marshal  and  guard  has  been  the  first  act  of 
the  commanding  general.  I  have  seen  fine 
libraries  scattered  about  and  trampled 
under  foot,    many  valuable    books    being 


THE   OTHER    MAN's   COUNTRY.       137 

carried  away.  I  have  seen  books  nearly 
two  centuries  old  in  the  possession  of 
soldiers. 

"  There  has  been  no  personal  violence  at 
any  time  that  I  have  seen  or  heard  of. 
Only  vacant  houses  have  been  searched. 
Whenever  the  occupants  have  remained 
instead  of  fleeing,  they  have  been  unmo- 
lested in  either  i^erson  or  property.  Actu- 
ally there  has  been  but  little  property 
taken.  More  has  been  damaged  or  de- 
stroyed than  carried  away.  The  bump  of 
destruction  seems  to  be  abnormally  de- 
veloped in  the  average  soldier.  He  seems 
to  delight  in  breaking  furniture  and  smash- 
ing looking-glasses  and  crockery.  Even 
pianos  are  not  sacred  from  his  violence. 
Why  this  is  so  I  cannot  say.  I  do  not 
understand  it  to  be  a  condition  of  mind 
peculiar  to  the  soldier  in  the  Philippines 
or  to  this  generation.  If  I  remember 
aright,  the  same  tendencies  existed  during 
our  civil  war.  I  only  tell  it  as  a  fact  that 
the  average  soldier  who  picks  up  a  fine 
piece  of  crockery  to  look  at  throws  it  down 
again,  instead  of  placing  it  down  gently ; 
sticks  his  heel  through  the  panels  of  side- 
boards, and  carves  the  legs  of  pianos  with 
his  bolo.     At  the  same  time  the  average 


138      THE   OTHER    MAn's    COUNTRY. 

officer  possesses  himself  of  the  best  horse 
and  caromato  he  can  find,  and  the  average 
general  blossoms  out  with  a  fine  span  and 
elegant  carriage,  for  which  he  is  unable  to 
present  a  bill  of  sale. 

^'The  richest  troi^hy-hunting  was  in 
Manila  after  its  capture  in  August  last. 
Private  property  was  not  taken,  but  there 
was  plenty  of  public  property  to  supply 
souvenirs  galore,  among  other  things  a 
splendid  collection  of  ancient  and  modern 
arms,  which  melted  away  under  the  covet- 
ous gaze  of  those  high  enough  in  authority 
to  reach  it.  I  call  to  mind  the  case  of  a 
certain  army  chaplain  who  undertook  to 
possess  himself  of  a  small  cannon  of  ancient 
make  to  present  to  the  university  of  his 
State,  and  was  severely  criticised  by  officers 
of  much  higher  rank,  who  at  the  time  held 
in  their  possession  and  for  their  own  use 
articles  of  much  greater  intrinsic  value. 
And  this  reminds  me  of  a  significant  re- 
mark made  by  an  officer  who  had  accumu- 
lated a  few  such  trophies  as  a  Mauser,  kris, 
bolo,  sword,  etc.  A  civilian  who  was  look- 
ing at  his  collection  asked  him  if  he  was 
not  afraid  of  a  court-martial.  He  replied 
no,  because  there  was  no  officer  competent 
to  order  a  court-martial,  from  the  governor- 


THE   OTHER    MAN's    COUNTRY.       139 

general  down,  who  would  be  willing  to 
trade  collections  with  him.  But  that  was 
long  ago,  and  now  the  orders  are  so  strict 
that  the  poor  soldier  who  seeks  curios,  or 
even  endeavors  to  add  chicken  to  his  bill- 
of-fare,  does  so  with  the  guard-house  and 
military  prison  at  Bilibid  staring  him  in 
the  face." 

That  some  of  the  army  officers  not 
only  winked  at  this  practice,  but 
encouraged  it,  is  evident  from  a  state- 
ment made  in  the  book  written  by 
Karl  Irving  Faust  and  Kev.  Peter 
MacQueen,  "  Campaigning  in  the  Phil- 
ippines," to  this  effect  (page  203) : 

''The  Idahos,  under  Major  Figgins, 
camped  in  the  church  at  Lumban.  The 
orders  were  very  strict  about  looting.  But 
the  old  major  said  he  thought  he  could  con- 
strue them  so  as  to  let  his  men  catch  chick- 
ens and  take  mats  from  the  houses  to  cover 
them  from  the  dew.  One  brawny  miner 
was  hauling  away  a  piece  of  carpet,  and 
was  thus  found  by  General  Lawton.  Law- 
ton  took  him  up  to  Major  Figgins.     '  What 


140      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

is  the  charge,  General?'  said  Figgins.  'I 
found  this  man  looting/  answered  the  Gen- 
eral. 'All  right,  General,'  said  Figgins; 
'leave  him  to  me;  I'll  deal  with  him.' 
When  Lawton  went  away  the  major  turned 
to  his  man,  who  was  an  Irishman,  'You 
big  galoot ;  why  did  you  let  the  General 
catch  you?  Now  off  with  you,  and  get 
your  carpet,  and  don't  let  me  see  you  get 
caught  again.' " 


The  testimony  of  other  volunteers  is 
to  the  same  effect.  Mahogany  or  cam- 
phor chests  are  common  in  many  Fili- 
pino houses.  They  are  used  by  the 
people  for  preserving  clothing  from 
the  ravages  of  destructive  insects. 
After  the  capture  of  a  village,  and 
when  the  inhabitants  had  fled,  soldiers 
would  break  open  the  lids  of  these 
chests  with  the  butts  of  their  guns, 
rifle  the  contents,  take  what  they  fan- 
cied, and  then  leave  the  rest  scattered 
about  in  wanton  confusion,  until  the 
flames,    afterwards     applied     to    the 


THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.       141 

houses,  destroyed  all  trace  of  wliat  had 
occurred. 

It  is  evident  tliat  this  looting  was 
not  necessary,  and  therefore  not  ex- 
cusable, while  the  burning  of  the 
villages  was  a  wanton  destruction  of 
property.  Such  acts  of  license  could 
have  been  restrained  by  proper  disci- 
pline. If  it  was  successfully  avoided 
in  dealing  with  the  Spanish  enemy, 
what  was  to  prevent  equal  success  in 
dealing  with  the  Filipinos  ? 

While  this  question  is  treated  rather 
as  an  incident  and  apart  from  the  main 
issue,  it  has  its  relative  value  in  a  con- 
sideration of  the  whole  subject.  It 
shows  the  bad  spirit  which  existed. 
Such  lawless  and  disgraceful  acts  are 
condoned  by  some  with  the  excuse, 
"Such  things  always  occur  in  war." 
If  so,  let  them  be  patiently  chronicled, 
that  an  advancing  civilization,  in  ab- 
horrence of  them,  may  render  war 
more  difficult  and  less  frequent. 


xi 


142      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

It  has  now  been  made  clear  that  the 
war  was  virtually  forced  upon  the 
Filipinos  by  the  general  policy  which 
we  pursued  in  the  islands  and  by  our 
incidental  actions.  To  summarize,  it 
has  been  shown  :  First,  that  a  procla- 
mation of  sovereignty  was  issued  at  a 
time  when  it  was  not  within  the  Presi- 
dent's constitutional  power  to  take  this 
grave  step,  and  when  a  de  facto  native 
government  was  preserving  peace  and 
fulfilling  its  functions  in  all  territory 
over  which  its  authority  extended ; 
second,  that  the  first  shot  in  the  conflict 
was  fired  by  us  in  territory  outside  Ma- 
nila, and  hence  beyond  the  limits  of 
our  jurisdiction.  But  the  most  im- 
portant fact  in  this  history,  and  one 
deserving  the  greatest  emphasis,  is 
that  when  the  Filipinos  wished  to  stop 
fighting, — and  this  they  certainly  did 
not  intend  at  that  time  to  begin, — their 
request  was  refused  by  the  American 
general  in  command  at  Manila. 


THE   OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY.       143 

On  February  5  Aguinaldo  sent  Gen- 
eral Torres  through  the  lines  with  a 
flag  of  truce  to  make  an  offer  which 
bore  on  the  face  of  it  a  sincere  desire 
to  restore  peace.  He  declared  that 
the  fighting  had  begun  without  his 
intention,  and  this  was  sufficiently 
evident,  since  General  Otis  admits  as 
much  on  pages  20,  21  of  his  report. 
Aguinaldo  offered  to  place  a  neutral 
zone  between  the  territories  occupied 
by  the  two  armies,  so  that  friction 
incident  to  closer  contact  might  be 
avoided.  But  this  reasonable  proposi- 
tion General  Otis  refused  to  consider, 
declaring  that  the  war,  having  begun, 
must  go  on  to  the  grim  end.  What 
warrant  was  there  for  assuming  so  ex- 
treme and  arbitrary  a  position  ?  The 
war  was  no  "war"  in  any  just  sense 
of  that  term.  There  was  only  a  mur- 
derous conflict  existing,  which  had  no 
declared  object,  and  which  should  at 
once  have  been  stopped,  since  it  was 


144      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

an  unmeaning  and  unnecessary  sacri- 
fice of  human  life.  This  occurrence 
took  place  February  5,  1899.  Con- 
gress had  declared  no  war.  The  Peace 
Treaty  was  not  ratified.  As  already 
stated,  it  was  adopted  by  the  Senate 
February  5,  the  following  day,  and  was 
signed  by  the  President,  February  10, 
but  was  not  formally  concluded  until 
the  Spanish  Government  had  ex- 
changed the  ratification  with  us  which 
took  place  April  11.  Therefore  Gen- 
eral Otis,  when  he  said  "  the  war  must 
go  on,"  whether  he  spoke  only  on  his 
own  authority  or  under  orders  from 
Washington,  decreed  a  brutal  slaugh- 
ter, unjustified  by  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  and  warranted  by 
no  practical  exigency  of  the  situation. 
There  was  no  moral  reason,  or  one 
that  could  be  stated,  for  continuing 
the  fighting.  What  was  the  real 
reason  ?  We  can  only  conjecture,  but 
this   much  we  can  do.     To  continue 


THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTEY.       145 

fighting  may  have  been  determined 
upon  in  order  that  the  Peace  Treaty- 
might  be  forced  through  the  Senate 
by  the  popular  belief  existing  at  home 
that  violence  and  bloodshed  were  car- 
ried on  in  the  Philippines,  and  that 
there  existed  no  responsible  native 
government  to  restore  order.  This 
conjecture,  discreditable  as  it  must 
be  to  the  administration,  is  much 
strengthened  by  a  statement  which 
appears  in  General  Otis's  report.  He 
states  that  on  February  7,  1899,  he  was 
anxious  to  secure  permission  for  Gen- 
eral Miller  to  make  an  armed  attack  on 
Iloilo,  a  town  lying  on  the  seacoast  in 
the  island  of  Cebu,  because  there  were 
"  overmastering  political  reasons" 
which  made  this  desirable.  It  would 
be  interesting  to  know  definitely  just 
what  those  political  reasons  were.  They 
could  not  certainly  have  been  political 
reasons,  from  the  Filipino  point  of 
view,    existing    in    the    Philippines. 

10 


146      THE   OTHER    MAn's    COUNTRY. 

The  politics  of  these  islands  called, 
above  all  things,  for  peace,  not  war; 
for  an  amicable  adjustment  of  misun- 
derstandings between  ourselves  and 
the  natives  after  their  terrible  struggle 
with  Spanish  tyranny.  We  are  led 
to  infer  that  it  was  a  j^olitical  exigency 
in  the  United  States  of  which  General 
Otis  had  probably  been  informed  by 
cable  despatch  from  Washington.  Pol- 
itics of  some  sort,  we  are  warranted  in 
declaring,  on  General  Otis's  authority, 
required  that  a  town  resting  peacefully 
in  the  hands  of  the  insurgent  govern- 
ment should  be  attacked.  Such  action 
on  our  part,  of  course,  involved  the 
destruction  of  human  life  and  prop- 
erty. Could  anything  be  more  cyni- 
cally merciless  than  this  proposition, 
which  sought  to  promote  party  welfare 
or  personal  ambition,  at  the  expense 
of  the  lives  and  goods  of  the  Filipinos, 
and  without  even  that  technical  excuse 
which  is  secured   from  a  legally  de- 


THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.       147 

clared  war?  General  Otis  still  had 
not  that  excuse,  for  he  states  that  it 
was  on  February  7  when  he  desired  to 
make  the  assault,  and  it  will  be  re- 
membered the  treaty  was  not  signed 
by  the  President  until  the  10th. 

The  final  touch  of  irony  is  given  to 
this  sad  history  by  a  despatch  of  Gen- 
eral Miller,  in  which  he  expresses  a 
strong  wish  to  attack  Iloilo  because 
the  insurgent  authorities  are  mean- 
while collecting  customs  and  con- 
ducting the  post-office.  The  General 
reasons  that  if  they  are  allowed  to 
continue  such  functions  they  will  get 
the  notion  that  they  are  capable  of 
managing  things  themselves.*  Such 
reasoning,  advanced  by  the  servants 
of  a  despotic  government,  of  Kussia 
or  Turkey,  would  occasion  no  sur- 
prise ;  but  from  the  lips  of  a  citizen 


=^-  Eeport  of  General  E.  S.  Otis,  1899,  page 
62. 


148      THE   OTHER    MAN's    COUNTRY. 

soldier  of  the  American  democracy  it 
is  astonishing. 

In  concluding  the  story  of  this  at- 
tempted conquest  of  the  Philippines, 
it  remains  only  to  note  that  General 
Otis  also  tells  us  in  his  report  that  the 
conflict  was  carried  on  by  a  "  vigorous 
offensive"  movement  on  our  part,  and 
was  wholly  "  defensive"  on  the  part 
of  the  insurgents.  In  a  word,  judging 
from  the  facts  already  cited,  whether 
the  matter  be  considered  morally  or 
technically,  our  authorities  forced  the 
war  which  has  now  been  waged  for 
more  than  a  year  upon  the  Filipino 
de  facto  government,  and  upon  the 
Christian  population  of  the  islands. 
Whatever  responsibility  is  involved  in 
that  act,  and  in  its  far-reaching  and 
awful  consequences,  must  rest  mainly 
upon  the  President.  It  is,  of  course, 
a  responsibility  shared  by  his  im- 
mediate advisers,  and  by  that  very 
large  number  of  his  political  and  other 


THE  OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.       149 

adherents  who  have  applauded  and 
sustained  what  he  has  done.  There 
can  be  little  doubt  that  very  many 
such  persons  have  taken  their  stand 
on  this  question  in  ignorance  of  the 
facts,  and  under  the  guidance  of  that 
large  and  influential  body  of  the  press 
of  the  country  which  has  greatly 
hidden  or  misrepresented  the  truth. 

Nor  can  we  justly  hesitate  to  hold 
Mr.  McKinley  himself  responsible  for 
those  seriously  erroneous  or  misleading 
statements  which  have  appeared  in  his 
numerous  public  speeches  on  the  Phil- 
ippine question.  Perhaps  one  of  the 
most  serious  of  these  was  the  assertion 
that  he  had  always  believed,  and  still 
believes,  that  the  great  mass  of  the 
Filipino  people  had  no  other  aspira- 
tion than  for  our  sovereignty.  No 
doubt  is  to  be  cast  upon  the  assertion 
that  such  is  Mr.  McKinley's  sincere 
belief,  but  one  is  at  a  loss  to  know  on 
what  basis  of  reliable  evidence  it  rests. 


150      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

The  despatches  of  Dewey,  Anderson, 
Pratt,  Wildman,  and  Williams  all 
sj)oke  a  distinctly  contrary  opinion ; 
while  the  letters  of  the  very  best  cor- 
respondents, even  including  represent- 
atives of  imperialist  or  expansion 
papers,  testified  strongly  to  the  con- 
trary view.  John  Bass,  representing 
Harper's  Weekly  and  the  New  York 
Herald,  Eev.  Peter  MacQueen,  of 
Somerville,  Massachusetts,  Mr.  Phelps 
Whitmarsh,  of  the  Outlooh^  Mr.  A. 
G.  Eobinson,  of  the  New  York  3ven- 
ing  Post,  Rev.  Clay  McCauley,  repre- 
senting the  Boston  Transcript,  may  be 
included  in  the  list. 

Pev.  Peter  MacQueen  says  in  a 
letter  which  appeared  in  The  Congre- 
gationalist,  of  Boston : 

''The  Filipinos  are  exceptionally  brave 
men.  They  suffer  pain  and  loss  like  mar- 
tyrs. Whether  they  are  right  or  wrong  in 
opposing  America  depends  on  the  view  you 
take.     From  the  point  of  view  of  the  ma- 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.      151 

terial  development  of  their  islands,  they  are 
wofully  "svTong.  From  the  point  of  view 
that  nobody  has  any  sovereignty  to  sell 
except  those  who  own  the  land,  they  are 
absolutely  right. 

"In  defence  of  the  principles  for  which 
Bruce  and  Winkelreid  and  Leonidas  fought, 
these  people  now  redden  the  swamps  of 
Luzon  with  their  blood.  As  far  as  the 
theory  goes,  the  argument  leans  their  way. 
^"WTio  are  these  Americans,'  Aguinaldo  is 
reported  to  have  asked,  'who  are  always 
prating  about  freedom,  who  are  crowding 
into  our  islands,  and  standing,  as  the  Span- 
iards did,  between  us  and  our  liberty  f 
This  is  a  hard  question ;  who  can  answer 
it? 

"  The  Filipinos  have  not  a  high  character 
for  honesty — they  have  mingled  too  much 
with  Europeans  for  that.  Some  can  be 
trusted,  but  most,  I  fear,  cannot.  ... 

' '  There  is,  however,  some  excuse  for  the 
feeling  among  the  Filipinos  that  it  is  no 
sin  to  rob  an  American.  In  the  first  place, 
the  Americans  have  kept  the  old  Spanish 
taxes  in  all  their  wanton  rigor.  The  Fili- 
pinos of  Manila  pay  higher  taxes  now  than 
they  did  in  the  worst  days  of  Weyler.  We 
have  revived  many  obsolete  taxes  and  are 


152      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

collecting  them  with  terrific  vigor.  Then, 
in  our  army  there  have  been  scoundrels 
who  have  gone  into  private  houses  dressed 
in  soldiers'  uniform  and  have  demanded 
from  the  poor  wretches  a  tax  which  they 
spent  in  the  neighboring  saloon.  Thus, 
these  irresponsible  rascals  would  go  into  a 
house  that  had  a  piano  and  say  that  they  had 
come  to  collect  a  tax  of  $5  upon  it.  The 
people  were  terrorized  by  men  who  had 
uniforms  and  guns,  and  so  paid  these 
unheard-of  taxes. 

''Late  in  July  General  Otis  issued  a 
proclamation  in  English,  Spanish,  and 
Tagalog,  calling  upon  people  not  to  pay 
taxes  except  at  the  authorized  ofB.ces. 
Some  of  our  soldiers  kick  and  cuff  and 
bully  the  natives  in  the  streets ;  and  many 
a  scowl  and  muttered  curse  shows  that  the 
Malay  is  biding  his  time.  These  people  do 
not  forget  indignities.  They  are  as  sensi- 
tive as  a  woman,  as  proud  as  a  Spaniard, 
as  brave  as  a  lion.  We  have  not,  so  far  as 
I  can  see,  succeeded  in  making  one  of  them 
either  fear  or  love  us." 

John  Bass,  tlie  experienced  corre- 
spondent of  the   New   York    Herald 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.       153 

and  of  Harper's   Weehly,  wrote  of  the 
situation  in  August,  1899,  as  follows : 

''The  whole  population  of  the  islands 
sympathize  with  the  insurgents  ;  only  those 
natives  whose  immediate  self-interest  re- 
quires it  are  friendly  to  us.  The  insurgent 
army  is  in  no  way  ready  to  give  in,  and  its 
policy  of  retreating  is  the  one  best  adapted 
to  the  accomplishment  of  its  ends. 

"There  have  been  only  half  a  dozen 
natives  who  have  been  in  confidential  rela- 
tions with  the  American  Government  here, 
and  most  of  these,  especially  those  formerly 
connected  with  the  insurgent  government, 
I  believe  to  be  spies  of  the  enemy.  It  is 
a  standing  joke  with  the  officers  along  the 
line  that  when  the  authorities  send  out 
word  that  there  is  going  to  be  an  attack  on 
their  forces  at  any  one  point,  they  may  be 
sure  that  no  attack  will  take  place  at  the 
time  specified.  The  most  important  moves 
of  the  insurgents  have  not  reached  the 
secret  service  department  until  after  they 
have  occurred.  ...  In  every  part  of  the 
islands  where  our  ships  have  gone  they 
have  found  only  hostile  natives,  who  ac- 
knowledged no  allegiance  save  to  the  in- 


154      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

surgent  government.  We  find  it  of  the 
utmost  difdculty  to  get  guides  to  sliow  us 
the  way.  Experienced  native  pilots  of  our 
gunboats  suddenly  become  ignorant  of  the 
character  of  the  lake,  the  river,  and  the 
bay,  unexpectedly  forgetting  the  position 
of  the  sand  bars.  The  authorities  actually 
believe  that  the  people  are  tired  of  the  in- 
surrection, and  would  like  to  come  under 
the  American  rule  if  they  could  only  get 
rid  of  their  chiefs  and  their  army.  Yet  the 
half -past  six  o'  clock  rule  is  still  on  in  Manila, 
and  everybody  must  be  indoors,  because 
the  authorities  are  still  afraid  of  an  uprising 
in  the  town.  The  sooner  the  people  of  the 
United  States  find  out  that  the  people  of 
the  Philippines  do  not  wish  to  be  governed 
by  us,  the  better  they  will  be  fitted  to  cope 
with  the  great  problem  out  here." 

In  the  Outlook  for  April  14  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Phelps  Whitmarsh  is  pub- 
lished which  contains  the  following 
remarkable  statements : 

''Civil  authorities,  local  and  provincial 
presidentes,  all  appointed  by  American 
authority  and  professing  allegiance  to  that 


THE   OTHER  MAN's   COUNTRY.      155 

authority  are  known  to  be  insurgent  in- 
formers and  traitors ;  assemhlias  are  again 
established  in  all  the  principal  towns  ;  and 
General  Otis  has  admitted  to  me  that  the 
Hong  Kong  and  Manila  juntas  were  never 
more  active  than  they  are  to-day.  Every- 
where the  insurrectos  are  reorganizing  or 
preparing  for  it.  Everywhere  when  one 
gets  beneath  the  polished  surface  one  finds 
the  same  old  hatred  towards  the  Americans 
and  the  same  hope  and  belief  in  ultimate 
independence.  With  the  exception  of  a 
mere  handful  too  insignificant  to  be  con- 
sidered, every  Filipino  in  his  heart  is  an 
insurrecto  and  wishes  to  drive  the  Ameri- 
cans from  the  islands." 

General  Anderson  writes  in  an  arti- 
cle published  in  the  North  American 

Review : 

"The  prevailing  sentiment  of  the  Filipi- 
nos towards  us  can  be  shown  by  one  incident: 

"About  the  middle  of  July  the  insurgent 
leaders  in  Cavite  invited  a  number  of  our 
army  officers  to  a  banquet.  There  was  some 
post-prandial  speech-making,  the  substance 
of  the  Filipinos'  talk  being  that  they  wished 
to  be  annexed,  but  not  conquered.     One  of 


156      THE   OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY. 

our  officers  in  reply  assured  them  that  we 
had  not  come  to  make  them  slaves,  but  free 
men.  A  singular  scene  followed ;  all  the 
Filipinos  rose  to  their  feet,  and  Baron  Can- 
nivo,  taking  his  wine-glass  in  his  hand, 
said,  'We  wish  to  be  baptized  to  that 
sentiment.'  Then  he  and  the  rest  poured 
the  wine  from  their  glasses  over  their  heads." 

Yet  President  McKinley  says  in  his 
message : 

'*  I  had  every  reason  to  believe,  and  I  still 
believe,  that  this  transfer  of  sovereignty  was 
in  accordance  with  the  wishes  and  aspirations 
of  the  great  mass  of  the  Filipino  people." 

Taken  in  connection  with  this  state- 
ment, the  following  despatch  is  of 
interest : 

"Hong  Kong,  July  22,  1898. 
"  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Washington  : 
"The  following  is  for  the  Secretary  of 
War: 

'^Aguinaldo    declares   dictatorship    and 

martial  law  over  the  islands.     The  x^eople 

expect  independence.    (Author's  italics.)  .  .  . 

**  Anderson,  Commanding, 

''Dewey." 


THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.       157 

Were  this  not  enough  to  show  what 
is  the  real  sentiment  of  the  most 
active  and  influential  of  the  Filipinos, 
what  interpretation  are  we  to  place 
upon  the  fact  that  it  has  been  neces- 
sary to  send  more  than  sixty  thousand 
troops  to  the  Philippine  Islands  in 
order  to  prosecute  the  war,  while  even 
with  this  great  force  in  active  operation 
the  war  continues?  If  the  Filipinos 
were  really  anxious  for  our  sovereignty, 
why  have  they  not,  under  our  leader- 
ship, organized  a  native  force  to  put 
down  that  infinitesimally  small  body 
of  malcontents  under  Aguinaldo  which 
disturbed  the  public  peace  and  hin- 
dered the  mass  of  the  people  from 
obtaining  the  boon  of  American  rule  ? 
Or  why  was  it  that  so  many  instances 
are  reported  of  the  treachery  of  native 
officials  towards  us  ?  The  experiment 
of  local  self-government  imposed  by 
American  arms  has  not,  eighteen 
months  after  our  military  rule  began, 


158      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

been  a  brilliant  success.  Some  of  our 
Americanized  Filipino  mayors  have 
scarcely  assumed  their  robes  of  office, 
when  we  have  been  obliged  to  lock 
them  up  in  jail  for  corresponding  with 
the  "  rebels,"  for  recruiting  soldiers 
for  the  enemy,  or  holding  a  commission 
in  Aguinaldo's  army.  As  late  as  the 
middle  of  March,  at  the  very  moment 
when  a  distinguished  American  Bishop 
returned  from  a  few  days'  residence  in 
Manila  to  tell  his  countrymen  that  the 
war  was  practically  over.  General  Otis 
himself  reports  renewed  activity  among 
the  Filipino  leaders,  that  it  is  unsafe  to 
travel  from  one  town  to  another,  and 
that  Manila  is  the  principal  seat  of 
trouble.  The  conservative  and  experi- 
enced correspondent  of  the  Evening 
Post,  Mr.  A.  G.  Bobinson,  brings  to 
an  end  a  valuable  series  of  letters,  full 
of  important  information,  with  the 
statement  that  after  eighteen  months 
of  American  military  rule  some  of  the 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.      159 

most  serious  abuses  which  originally 
provoked  Filipino  insurrection  against 
Spain,  and  which  undoubtedly  are  re- 
sponsible for  its  continuance  against  us, 
still  exist ;  that  Spanish  taxes,  Spanish 
laws,  and,  worse  than  either  of  these, 
Spanish  friars  still  remain.  The 
American  people,  Mr.  Robinson  con- 
cludes, can  secure  peace  whenever  they 
choose  to  do  so  by  returning  to  Ameri- 
can principles,  by  granting  to  these 
Filipinos  a  reasonable  measure  of 
political  rights,  and  the  removal  of 
the  glaring  abuses  mentioned.  With- 
out taking  these  steps,  he  tells  us,  the 
outlook  is  "  gloomy  indeed." 

And  why  should  such  steps  not  be 
taken  ?  What  hinders  the  people  of 
the  United  States  from  declaring  im- 
mediately by  the  voice  of  Congress 
that  the  people  of  the  Philippine 
Islands  '*  are  and  of  right  ought  to  be 
free  and  independent,"  that  our  inter- 
ference with  the  rule  of  Spain  in  these 


160      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

islands  was  not  for  the  purpose  of 
forcible  annexation,  which  under  our 
code  of  morals  would  be  "criminal 
aggression,"  but  that  it  was  to  establish 
liberty  and  order  there,  as  in  Cuba? 
Such  a  declaration,  it  is  true,  would 
come  late;  it  could  not  bring  to  life 
the  thousands  who  have  been  slain  be- 
cause it  was  not  spoken  at  an  earlier 
day ;  but  it  may  yet  save  the  lives  of 
thousands  who  will  otherwise  die  by 
violence  or  disease.  To  make  such  a 
declaration  would  instantly  render  us 
consistent  with  ourselves,  with  Ameri- 
can traditions,  and  with  our  declared 
purpose  in  entering  the  Spanish  war. 
It  would  at  once  offer  a  basis  of  co- 
operation with  the  insurgent  chiefs, 
whom,  up  to  this  time,  we  have  treated 
on  the  false  assumption  that  they  are 
"rebels."  They  are  not  rebels,  but 
vindicators  of  their  own  political  rights. 
They  know  that  we  declared  Spain's 
title  to  Cuba  void  because  of  her  per- 


THE   OTHER   MAN'S   COUNTRY.       161 

sistently  cruel  and  incompetent  govern- 
ment. It  was  wholly  on  that  assump- 
tion that  we  asserted  our  right  to 
destroy  her  authority  by  force  of  arms. 
They  know  that  we  deliberately — not 
by  a  chance — broke  down  her  au- 
thority in  the  Philippines,  where  her 
government  had  been,  if  possible,  more 
cruel,  more  incompetent,  than  in  Cuba. 
Hence,  according  to  our  own  logic,  no 
more  valid  title  remained  to  Spain  in 
the  East  Indies  than  in  the  West 
Indies. 

The  Filipinos  know  that  our  pre- 
tence to  the  right  to  purchase  such  a 
title,  for  which  we  paid  the  price  of 
twenty  million  dollars,  and  thus  to 
gain  sovereignty  over  them,  is  a  mon^ 
strous  falsehood.  They  know  that  the 
stigma  of  rebellion  put  upon  them 
ever  since,  because  they  denied  the 
justice  of  our  claims,  is  equally  false 
and  unjust.     Why  should  we  not  now 

confess  our  error,  or,  to  speak  more 
11 


162      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

accurately,  our  sin,  and  invite  them  to 
talk  the  matter  over,  not  on  the  false 
basis  of  master  to  subject,  but  of  man 
to  man  ?  Again  and  again  they  have 
asked  us  to  do  this,  but  General  Otis, 
the  military  representative  of  Presi- 
dent McKinley,  has  as  often  refused 
the  request,  saying  that  he  will  have 
nothing  short  of  "  unconditional  sur- 
render." Can  we  do  less  than  this? 
If  a  nation's  hands  ever  were  stained 
with  innocent  blood,  wantonly  shed  to 
make  good  a  groundless  claim,  ours 
certainly  are.  We  may  seek  to  clothe 
the  truth  with  attractive  and  clever 
sophistries,  but  it  still  stands  naked 
before  us.  We  have  been  guilty  of  a 
great  national  sin.  We  should  beware 
of  adding  to  that  sin,  as  its  disastrous 
consequences  begin  to  pile  upon  us,  by 
refusing  to  consider  it  or  to  repent  of 
it.  We  should  repair  the  mischief 
which  we  have  wrought. 

The  immediate  result  of  a  general 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.       163 

declaration  of  political  rights  such  as 
is  suggested  would  probably  be  a  ces- 
sation of  hostilities.  Then  would  come 
a  conference  with  all  the  insurgent 
chiefs  in  arms  against  us.  Sir  Andrew 
Clark  has  already  told  us  that  to  deal 
with  these  people  successfully  we  must 
act  through  their  own  leaders, — those 
in  whom  they  have  confidence,  and 
who  represent  their  aspirations. 

When  we  have  once  come  to  friendly 
relations  with  the  Filipino  leaders  and 
are  ready  to  hear  what  they  have  to 
ask  of  us,  we  shall  probably  be  called 
on  to  do  just  what  Mr.  A.  G.  Eobin- 
son  and  so  many  others  have  asserted. 
We  shall  be  asked  to  remedy  the 
terrible  abuses  connected  with  the 
monastic  establishments  in  the  islands. 
What  the  Filipinos  always  asked  Span- 
ish governors  fruitlessly,  they  will  ask 
us, — let  us  hope  successfully.  This 
will  probably  result  in  most  of  the 
obnoxious  friars  going  back  to  Spain. 


164      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

When  they  find  that  a  vigorous  in- 
quiry is  about  to  be  made  into  the 
validity  of  the  titles  by  which  they 
hold  the  immensely  valuable  lands  of 
their  Philippine  establishments,  they 
will  realize  the  fact  that  a  missionary 
life  in  foreign  parts  has  lost  its  princi- 
pal charm  for  them.  This  feeling  will 
be  further  strengthened  by  the  knowl- 
edge that  the  United  States  will  not  so 
far  step  into  Spain's  shoes  as  to  pay 
them  salaries  for  the  performance  of 
their  ecclesiastical  duties.  For  such 
support  they  hope  now,  while  on  the 
other  hand  the  fear  that  our  govern- 
ment will  assume  this  relationship  to- 
wards them  is  one  great  factor  in  pro- 
moting distrust  and  antagonism  in  the 
minds  of  the  Filipinos  towards  us. 

The  very  fact  that  a  Papal  Legate, 
Archbishop  Chapelle,  who  is  also  un- 
derstood by  the  Filipinos  to  represent 
President  McKinley,  is  in  the  island 
of  Luzon,  and  that  his  purpose  is  sup- 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.       165 

posed  to  be  the  maintenance  of  the 
monastic  establishment  on  the  same 
basis  upon  which  they  rested  during 
the  Spanish  regime,  gives  strength  to 
the  belief  of  the  Filipinos  that  it  is 
the  intention  of  our  government  to 
maintain  the  friars  in  authority  over 
them.  It  is  not  claimed  that  this 
question  of  the  mendicant  orders  is 
not  fraught  with  difficulties.  It  would 
require  a  firm  hand,  a  high  order  of 
judgment,  and  a  highly  developed 
sense  of  justice  to  deal  with  and  settle 
it.  A  plant  whose  roots  have  burrowed 
the  soil  for  three  hundred  years  would 
be  hard  to  pluck  up. 

But  the  work,  though  difficult,  could 
be  performed.  It  is  evident  that  it 
must  be  done  if  peace  and  prosperity 
are  to  come  to  the  Philippines.  The 
very  declaration  that  we  intended  to 
meet  the  difficulty  promptly  and  cour- 
ageously would  go  a  long  way  to- 
wards removing  it.     What  is  needed 


166      THE   OTHER    MAn's   COUNTRY. 

immediately  is  a  declaration  by  Con- 
gress assuring  tlie  Filipinos  that  their 
political  rights  will  be  respected,  and 
telling  the  friars  plainly  that  they  can 
expect  neither  salaries  nor  support 
from  the  United  States  Government. 
This  would  at  once  tend  to  re-establish 
the  lost  confidence  of  the  Filipinos  in 
us.  It  would  open  the  way  for  a  full 
and  judicial  inquiry  into  the  facts  of 
this  question  of  the  mendicant  orders. 
The  friars  themselves,  and  their  out- 
side supporters,  should,  of  course,  be 
given  the  fullest  opportunity  to  render 
testimony  in  their  own  defence.  They 
should  have  a  full  chance  to  meet  and, 
if  possible,  rebut  the  charges  of  appro- 
priation of  lands,  of  cruelty,  of  im- 
morality, of  merciless  taxation  which 
have  been  preferred  by  apparently 
reliable  authorities  against  them. 
They  could  thus  fully  explain  the 
part  which  they  took  in  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  insurrection  of  1896,  and 


THE   OTHER    MAN's   COUNTRY.       167 

the  charge  made  against  them  of  pro- 
moting arrests  without  evidence,  of  the 
use  of  mediaeval  tortures  to  procure 
confessions  of  guilt,  and  of  other 
alleged  irregularities,  which  now  cast 
so  dark  a  shadow  upon  their  name  and 
upon  the  name  of  Christianity  through 
them. 

But  the  opponents  and  accusers  of 
the  friars  would  also  have  an  equal 
chance  to  be  heard.  Those  Filipinos 
who  had  reason  to  remember  the  heavy 
hand  of  Archbishop  Nozaleda  could 
come  forward  without  fear  to  tell  their 
story.  Such  a  procedure  would  show 
the  Filipinos  that  they  need  not  infer 
from  the  presence  of  Nozaleda  in  the 
place  of  honor  at  the  reception  given 
by  Archbishop  Chapelle,  or  from  the 
l^rominence  of  the  Spanish  prelate 
during  General  Otis's  regime,  that  he 
and  the  friars  were  to  continue  as  the 
especial  proteges  of  the  United  States 
Government.     We  would  accord  due 


168      THE   OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY. 

protection  to  friars  and  Filipinos,  but 
not  a  protection  of  such  a  partisan 
nature  as  would  prevent  disclosure  of 
the  full  truth.  Aguiualdo  himself,  in 
such  a  searching  inquiry,  would  be 
given  the  chance  to  show  what  made 
him  believe  and  assert  that  Nozaleda 
had  tried  to  have  him  assassinated. 
If  the  accuser  could  prove  his  case, 
the  public  would  know  just  what  to 
think  of  Archbishop  Nozaleda,  and  if 
not,  but  supposing  the  accused  man 
could  show  that  he  was  the  victim  of  a 
monstrous  libel,  then  everybody  would 
know  just  what  to  think  of  Aguinaldo. 
His  influence  among  his  own  people 
(which  is  now  perhaps  the  greatest 
obstacle  to  peace  with  us)  would  de- 
cline, and  in  the  easiest  possible  way 
we  should  have  broken  the  power  of 
the  insurgent  leader.  At  such  an  in- 
quiry, the  Spanish  archives,  recording 
the  dark  deeds  of  centuries  of  abso- 
lutism, would  be  brought  fully  to  the 


THE  OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.       169 

light.  We  could  gather  much  that 
would  be  of  the  greatest  value  relating 
to  the  acts  of  Spanish  governors,  con- 
cerning the  causes  of  past  rebellions, 
and  especially  the  alleged  overruling 
by  the  friars  of  the  plans  which  some 
of  the  most  enlightened  and  humane 
of  the  governors  tried  to  carry  out  for 
the  benefit  of  the  natives.  The  world 
would  learn  just  why  Governor-Gen- 
eral Don  Emilio  Despujols,  Conde  de 
Caspe,  was  not  permitted  to  carry  out 
the  important  reforms  in  which  he  was 
engaged ;  why  that  system  of  exact 
justice  towards  ecclesiastics,  Spaniards, 
and  Filipinos  which  he  instituted  was 
interrupted ;  and  why  he  was  recalled 
by  the  Spanish  Government.  We 
should  ascertain  why  the  humane 
Blanco  was  superseded  by  the  cruel 
Polavieja,  and  why  Jose  Eizal,  and 
many  more  like  him,  were  executed ; 
in  fine,  such  a  judicial  inquiry  as  this 
would  summon  all  hidden  or  disputed 


170      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTEY. 

facta  into  the  light  for  consideration 
and  judgment.  What  better  means 
could  be  adopted  to  conserve  for  the 
future  benefit  of  the  people  of  the 
Philippine  Islands  all  of  true  religion, 
useful  knowledge,  and  humanizing  in- 
fluences of  which  the  monastic  orders 
are  possessed?  This  would  remove 
abuses  which  now  excite  the  Filipinos 
to  a  ferment  of  insurrection,  or  keep 
alive  in  their  minds  dangerous  hidden 
enmity  against  us.  By  taking  these 
steps  promptly  and  in  logical  sequence 
the  United  States  will  most  readily 
attain  peace  and  order  in  the  Philip- 
pines. 

The  country  now  faces  the  question : 
How  can  Congress  be  induced  to 
take  action  towards  this  end  in  time 
to  stop  further  bloodshed  ?  President 
McKinley  cannot  be  expected  to  take 
such  action,  for  it  is  contrary  to  the 
policy  inaugurated  by  him  and  which 
1         he  has  steadily   pursued.     It  would 


THE   OTHER   MAN's  COUNTRY.       171 

seem  that  grave  political  reasons  and 
the  demands  of  great  trusts  and 
monopolies  are  wholly  opposed  to  it. 
This  is  not  the  jDolicy  of  that  commer- 
cial exploitation  to  which  the  admin- 
istration is  committed.  The  Sugar 
Trust  and  the  tobacco  interests  have 
already  given  the  clear  demonstration 
of  their  power  to  dictate  a  tariff  for 
Porto  Rico,  even  though  such  policy 
means  starvation  to  the  Porto  Picans 
and  is  contrary  to  that  "  plain  duty'* 
towards  the  islands  which  the  Presi- 
dent advocated  in  his  message.  It 
would,  therefore,  seem  idle  to  look 
directly  for  relief  and  the  adoption  of 
wise  measures  either  to  the  Executive 
or  to  the  Pepublican  majority  in  Con- 
gress. But  both  the  President  and 
Congress  may  be  influenced  by  a  direct 
appeal  to  public  sentiment,  which  is, 
after  all,  in  a  representative  govern- 
ment, always  the  reservoir  of  power, — 
the  court  of  last  appeal.     Towards  this 


172      THE   OTHER    MAN's   COUNTRY. 

end,  then,  believers  in  American  insti- 
tutions, and  those  who  desire  peace  to 
succeed  war,  should  exert  themselves. 
It  may  be  that  beneficial  action  of 
some  kind  may  be  secured  previous  to 
the  November  election.  But  how  shall 
we  reach  public  sentiment  ?  How  con- 
vince the  people  and  arouse  them  to 
action  in  time  ?  Only  by  calm,  earnest 
appeal  to  reason,  through  legitimate 
argument,  through  a  rehearsal  of  the 
facts  so  clear  that  the  plain,  reli- 
gious-minded, honest  but  hard-worked 
American  citizen  shall  become  con- 
vinced of  the  truth,  his  conscience  be 
touched,  and  he  himself  be  stirred  to 
action. 

The  typical  American  is  a  religious 
and  conscientious  man.  Self-interest, 
or  partisanship,  or  ignorance  may 
blind  his  eyes  to  duty  for  the  time,  but 
not  for  long.  It  is  possible  to  pierce 
through  the  outer  defences  of  his  mind 
and  heart  so  as  to  reach  his  reason  and 


THE   OTHER    MAlS^'s    COUNTRY.       173 

conscience.  Clearly  or  dimly  lie  be- 
lieves in  God,  in  the  moral  law  which. 
God  has  established  in  the  world.  He 
is  hopeful  of  a  greater  and  more  per- 
fect conformity  to  that  law  on  man's 
part  as  the  centuries  roll  on.  He  does 
not  desire  to  be  led  astray  by  that 
fatalistic  fallacy  which  proclaims  a 
destiny  denying  free  agency  to  man. 
He  believes  that  duty  is  a  reality,  and 
that  it  is  possible  for  nations  as  for 
men  to  perform  it.  He  will  do  his 
duty  if  he  once  clearly  sees  it. 


CHAPTEE  III. 

The  preceding  chapters  have  dealt 
with  events,  occurring  in  the  recent 
history  of  the  United  States  and  of 
the  Philippine  Islands,  which  of  neces- 
sity deeply  affect  the  welfare  of  an 
alien  people.  That  is  the  first  and 
most  obvious  fact  forced  home  upon 
the  mind  and  conscience  of  the  reader 
of  this  story. 

There  is  in  this  situation  a  strong 
appeal  to  our  pity,  born  of  a  knowl- 
edge of  what  our  nation,  acting  through 
its  chosen  representatives,  has  done  in 
the  Philippines  during  the  last  two 
years.  The  story  must  awaken  in  the 
minds  of  those  who  profess  to  obey 
and  to  love  the  moral  law  a  sense  of 
shame  and  regret,  and  a  desire  to  offer 

174 


THE   OTHER    MAIST's    COUNTRY.       175 

some  fitting  restitution  to  those  who 
have  suffered  at  our  hands.  This  is 
the  first  thought  prompted  by  a  fairly 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and 
it  alone  should  be  strong  enough  to 
spur  us  to  prompt  remedial  action. 

But  there  is  a  second  thought,  of 
equally  deep  significance.  The  work 
we  have  been  engaged  in  will  have  far 
broader  and  more  lasting  consequences 
for  evil  than  is  to  be  found  in  the 
harm  done  to  eight  million  Asiatics. 

The  policy  of  imperialism,  once 
definitely  entered  upon  by  the  United 
States,  means  nothing  short  of  a  per- 
manent abandonment  of  those  great 
ideals  of  responsibility,  liberty,  and 
growth  for  the  individual  citizen  which 
inspired  our  fathers  to  the  sacrifices 
that  created  the  republic,  and  which, 
through  storm  and  stress  and  tempo- 
rary eclipse,  have  sustained  the  hopes 
of  those  who  have  preserved  it.  If 
we  finally  conclude  that  political  free- 


176      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

dom,  and  the  strength  and  self-reliance 
which  come  to  men  when  they  possess 
and  use  it  wisely,  are  only  the  right 
of  the  strong, — that  they  are  not  uni- 
versal and  inalienable  rights, — then  it 
must  be  clear  to  all  that  the  corner- 
stone of  the  temple  of  American  lib- 
erty is  destroyed.  Once  having  com- 
mitted ourselves  to  a  denial  of  this 
proposition  in  its  application  to  others 
abroad,  it  can  be  but  a  question  of 
time  when  we  shall  deny  it  also  for 
certain  classes  at  home.  If  we  deter- 
mine that  certain  men  in  the  Orient 
are  incapable  of  self-government,  and 
that  we  have  the  right  to  use  physical 
force  to  compel  them  to  accejot  our 
rule,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  bodies 
of  men  in  our  country,  who,  by  com- 
binations of  wealth  and  indifference 
to  moral  considerations,  seek  to  con- 
trol legislatures  and  executives,  from 
enforcing  the  same  right  of  the  strong- 
est upon  those  of  their  fellow-citizens 


THE   OTHER    MAn's   COUNTRY.       177 

wHo  are  too  weak  to  resist.  This  will 
be  tlie  inevitable  conclusion  from  which 
we  shall  in  vain  try  to  escape. 

The  truth  of  Lincoln's  aphorism 
will  be  verified :  "  Those  who  deny 
freedom  to  others  deserve  it  not  for 
themselves,  and,  under  a  just  God,  can- 
not long  retain  it."  America  will 
have  over-reached  herself;  betrayed 
by  greed  and  ambition  at  the  very 
moment  when  she  had  fallen  on  her 
knees  in  the  act  of  self- worship)  because 
of  her  vaunted  possession  of  unselfish 
virtue,  unknown  to  the  Old  "World. 

But  there  is  a  third  thought  which 
impresses  lovers  of  true  civilization 
still  more  powerfully,  and  which 
should  stimulate  more  vigorously  than 
either  of  the  preceding  ones  to  reme- 
dial action.  Up  to  this  moment, 
America  has  stood  as  the  world's 
watch-tower  and  stronghold  of  liberty 
and  equality.  She  has  furnished  an 
asylum    for   the   oppressed   of   other 

12 


178      THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

nations ;  but  still  more  important  than 
tliat,  slie  lias  been  a  land  shielded  by 
tlie  broad  arms  of  kindly  seas,  where 
the  great  experiment  of  democracy 
might  be  brought  to  a  rich  and  fruit- 
ful issue  ;  where  the  man  who  carried 
the  hoe,  and  he  who  guided  the  loom, 
should  become  mightier  than  the  man 
who,  backed  by  armed  force,  bears  the 
sceptre. 

This  dream,  "  the  loveliest  and  the 
last,"  will  vanish  with  the  triumph  of 
imperialism.  If  the  prize  is  to  be 
awarded  to  the  strongest,  the  defence 
of  the  weak  will  be  broken  down,  and 
the  hope  which  cheered  him  when  all 
others  were  denied  will  disappear. 
We  cannot  have  both  kinds  of 
strength ;  they  are  incompatible. 

The  hope,  too,  or  dream,  as  some 
would  call  it,  of  peace  between  nations 
which  can  never  be  realized  excepting 
by  the  steady  evolution  of  the  powers 
of  the  human  heart  and  brain  to  that 


THE   OTHER    MAn's    COUNTRY.       179 

point  of  development  where  love  shall 
have  been  discovered  to  be  a  better 
motive  and  guide  for  every  form  of 
human  activity  than  force, — that  beau- 
tiful dream,  which  seemed  almost  able 
to  retain  its  form  in  the  clear  light  of 
common  day,  will  have  become  trans- 
formed into  the  nightmare  of  universal 
anarchistic  hate  and  violence.  There 
will  be  nothing  left  in  all  the  world — 
economic,  political,  social — ^but  huge 
primaeval  forms  of  selfishness,  cease- 
lessly devouring  each  other,  and,  acting 
under  the  law  of  that  demon  of  force 
and  greed  whom  they  have  chosen  to 
rule  over  them,  unable  to  check  their 
montrous  appetite.  It  seems  incred- 
ible that  the  United  States,  founded 
for  the  nurture  of  human  liberty, 
based  on  belief  in  a  God  of  right- 
eousness and  love,  and  consecrated  to 
the  mission  of  preserving  and  promot- 
ing human  equality,  is  ready  to  take 
the  downward  path. 


180      THE   OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY. 

Tt  is  well  to  inquire,  seriously, 
wherein  lies  the  principal  strength 
of  the  imperialistic  movement  in  the 
United  States, — a  movement  which 
has  made  us  responsible  for  so  much 
loss  and  bloodshed,  and  now  stretches 
about  us  a  lowering  and  stormy  hori- 
zon. There  is  no  question  to  which 
a  correct  answer  is  more  urgently 
called  for.  If  we  know  the  cause  of 
trouble,  we  may  be  able  to  apply  a 
remedy.  Greed,  ambition,  and  the 
intoxication  of  successful  war  have  all 
j)layed  their  part  in  tempting  the 
nation  to  where  it  now  stands,  and  in 
inducing  it  to  exchange  what  were 
once  generally  accepted  principles  for 
a  policy  of  opportunism  and  conquest 
such  as  we  had  in  the  past  pitied  or 
derided  other  nations  for  adopting. 

There  is,  however,  a  far  deeper  and 
more  subtle  cause  for  our  present  atti- 
tude than  may  be  found  in  the  per- 
ennial schemes  of  ambitious  and  un- 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.       181 

principled  men.  The  country  never 
could  liave  been  led  into  the  imperial- 
istic policy  had  not  a  very  large  num- 
ber of  her  sober-minded,  virtuous,  and 
religious  citizens  approved,  or  at  least 
tolerated,  the  change.  It  cannot  be 
denied  that  great  numbers  of  the  re- 
ligious and  thoughtful  men  of  the 
country,  including  the  religious  teach- 
ers of  various  creeds,  openly  or  covertly 
approved  what  was  being  done.  How 
is  their  attitude  to  be  accounted  for, 
and  how  can  they  be  brought  to  see 
the  disastrous  consequences  of  the 
present  j)olicy,  and  so  be  prevailed 
upon  to  change  it  ? 

The  fundamental  difficulty  in  this 
case  seems  to  lie  partly  in  the  failure 
of  a  majority  of  our  religious  teachers, 
most  of  whom  profess  some  form  of 
Christianity,  to  grasp  the  cardinal 
principle  of  Christ's  teaching,  which 
is  justice  and  love  as  opposed  to  arbi- 
trary force;  and  partly  in  their  lack 


182      THE    OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

of  training  in  that  close,  untiring  ob- 
servation of  public  affairs  which  is 
necessary  in  order  to  detect  the  hand 
of  human  manipulation  in  events 
which  the  careless,  suj^erficial  observer 
attributes  to  God  or  Destiny.  Because 
of  the  former  reason,  thousands  of 
influential  and  excellent  men  are  led 
to  approve  violent  and  immoral  means 
for  the  accomplishment  of  benevolent 
or  religious  ends ;  or  even  to  approve 
the  accomplishment  of  unworthy  ends 
when  they  are  sought  by  their  merce- 
nary fellow-citizens  because  they  hope 
that,  incidentally,  good  results  will 
follow.  Mistakes  or  even  greed  may 
have  caused  the  Philippine  war, 
but,  nevertheless,  Christianity  will  be 
spread  by  it;  the  heathen  world  will 
be  better  and  more  quickly  opened  to 
the  spread  of  Christianity,  even  though 
for  the  moment  the  barbarities  and 
sufferings  of  war  must  be  endured. 
Such    reasoning    seems   to   deny   the 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.      183 

fundamental  jDrinciple  of  all  ethical 
religions,  which  teach  that  man's  acts 
should  be  controlled  by  the  law  of 
justice  to  one's  neighbor,  and  that  we 
are  not  justified  in  violating  that  law 
because  we  assume  that  incidental 
benefits  attend  its  violation.  Through 
failure  to  observe  closely  the  precise 
facts  of  the  swift-moving  drama,  many 
of  the  events  of  which  are  shrouded 
for  the  time  in  darkness,  good  men 
often  fail  to  see  how  all  the  good  re- 
sults which  they  hope  to  attain,  even 
by  violent  and  unjust  means,  could 
have  been  had  through  just  and  peace- 
able ones. 

This  wide-spread  fallacy  is  as  dan- 
gerous as  it  is  subtle.  Unless  it  can 
be  exposed  so  effectually  that  men 
perceive  its  true  nature  and  avoid  it 
henceforth,  the  hope  of  the  future, 
which  is  dependent  on  increasing  jus- 
tice, peace,  and  industrial  progress 
in  the  world,  is  put  in  jeopardy.     If 


184      THE  OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

tlie  present  drift  continues,  tlie  world's 
movement  will  not  be  forward,  but 
backward  towards  the  ancient  barbar- 
ism of  the  armed  camp.  What  is  needed 
for  the  future  is  a  closer  union  of  reli- 
gion and  ethics.  It  has  been  evident 
during  these  past  two  years  that  many- 
men,  professing  themselves  Christian, 
accept  a  code  of  morals  in  such  crises 
as  this  wholly  opposed  to  Christ's 
teachings,  as  it  certainly  was  foreign 
to  His  practice;  while  many  others, 
professing  no  faith  whatever  in  re- 
vealed religion,  advocate  a  policy 
entirely  consistent  with  the  loving 
and  just  Gospel  of  the  Great  Teacher. 
It  is  hard  to  explain  so  anomalous  a 
condition  of  affairs  on  any  purely 
intellectual  hypothesis.  Perhaps  the 
most  satisfactory  explanation  of  it  may 
be  found  in  the  supposition  that  for 
one  cause  or  another  those  from  whom 
we  could  naturally  expect  the  most 
complete    exposition    of    the    ethical 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.       185 

teaching  of  Christ  have  not  fully  ap- 
prehended its  peculiar  nature.  Chris- 
tianity is  essentially  a  moral  force.  It 
is  inseparable  from  the  highest  stand- 
ards of  justice.  Proceeding,  as  the 
Christian  believes,  from  an  unfathom- 
able Divine  love,  it,  therefore,  of 
necessity,  in  communicating  its  pur- 
pose to  mankind,  speaks  a  language 
of  love  which  is  intelligible  to  the 
hearts  of  all,  even  though  they  may 
dissent  from  other  parts  of  its  doctrine. 
We  do  not  yet  realize  the  practical 
value  of  this  great  force,  as  until 
recently  we  were  ignorant  of  the  value 
of  electricity  to  the  physical  needs  of 
man.  A  fact  of  the  most  vital  im- 
portance seems  to  have  been  lost  sight 
of  by  the  great  majority  of  the  pro- 
fessed teachers  of  religion  among  us : 
it  is  that  the  ethical  standards  by 
which  men  actually  govern  their  con- 
duct are  elevated  very  slowly,  so  that 
some   of  the   most  vital   and   funda- 


186      THE   OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY. 

mental  principles  of  even  Christian 
morals  are  as  yet  imperfectly  applied 
to  practical  life.  One  of  the  most 
vital  functions,  therefore,  of  the  min- 
ister of  religion  is  to  lead  men  steadily 
forward  towards  a  fuller  and  more 
complete  practice  of  that  standard  of 
morals  which  their  religion  teaches  and 
which  they  profess  to  observe.  This 
important  work  can  only  be  done  by 
those  who  have  the  courage  to  show 
their  hearers  how  ethical  standards  can 
be  applied  to  current  events.  The  min- 
isters of  religion  in  the  United  States 
would  seem  at  this  time  to  have  let  a 
great  chance  for  moral  leadership  slip 
by.  What  is  most  needed  would  seem 
to  be,  not  so  much  multiplication  of 
the  professed  teachers  of  religion,  as 
of  its  actual  practitioners.  It  has  been 
forgotten  that  the  harvest  of  moral 
progress  is  best  reaped  at  precisely 
that  moment  of  crisis  when  moral 
danger  most  seriously  threatens.     It  is 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.      187 

in  the  hour  when  the  assaults  of  passion 
or  folly  in  some  of  their  varied  forms 
are  made,  which  at  one  time  attack  the 
individual  man  and,  at  another,  the 
nation,  that  the  warning  and  inspira- 
tion of  the  preacher  of  truth  is  most 
needed. 

Nearly  all  reasonable  men  admit  in 
the  time  of  peace,  or  when  only  wars 
in  which  they  have  no  concern  are 
being  waged,  that  war  is  a  great  evil, 
and  that  they  would  gladly  see  it 
supplanted  by  some  reasonable  and 
peaceful  method  of  settling  interna- 
tional disputes,  such  as  a  court  of 
arbitration  offers.  But  the  same  per- 
sons,— let  us  suppose  them  Christians, 
in  order  to  strengthen  the  argument, 
— when  the  nation  of  which  they  are 
a  part  is  slipping  into  the  whirlpool 
of  war,  will  do  nothing  to  arrest  its 
progress.  They  abandon  any  attempt 
to  apply  the  principles,  which  formerly 
they  professed,  to  the  government  of 


188      THE  OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

the  case  of  their  own  nation.  They 
refuse,  as  though  it  were  disloyal,  to 
make  a  careful  consideration  of  the 
facts  of  the  particular  conflict  under 
consideration,  and  content  themselves 
with  the  vague  generalization,  **  There 
are  some  things  worse  than  war." 
Their  purpose  seems  to  be  to  draw 
their  opponent  away  from  a  discussion 
which,  if  calmly  and  sincerely  con- 
ducted, might  be  profitable, — viz., 
whether  the  war  in  question  is  right 
or  wrong — to  debate  the  unsatisfactory 
topic  whether  there  is  anything  worse 
than  war.  It  is  clear  that  but  slight 
moral  progress  can  be  made,  even 
towards  a  condition  of  less  frequent 
war,  unless  the  professors  of  ethical 
religion  are  willing  to  lend  their  aid 
towards  outlawing  such  wars  as  they 
themselves  admit  have  no  moral  jus- 
tification. If  they  will  not  even  take 
this  moderate  step  forward,  then,  in- 
deed, little  help  can  be  expected  from 


THE  OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.       189 

them  towards  abating  those  evils  which 
are  inseparable  from  war,  no  matter 
how  flawlessly  orthodox  may  be  their 
creeds,  or  how  rich  and  beautiful  the 
services  through  which  they  worship 
the  Divine  Father.  If  we  determine 
that  the  cause  we  have  in  hand  is  a 
valid  one  and  worthy  of  serious  effort, 
we  must  turn  for  aid  and  comfort  to 
those  who,  without  profession  of  belief 
in  a  revealed  religion,  at  least  gladly 
perform  some  of  the  most  notable  of 
those  good  works  which  it  enjoins. 
While  religious  men  are  felicitating 
themselves  upon  being  "  the  children 
of  Abraham,"  although  they  remain 
indifferent  to  certain  of  the  great  obli- 
gations which  such  a  lineage  entails, 
the  warning  long  ago  given  should  not 
be  forgotten,  that  God  is  able  to  "  raise 
u])  children  unto  Abraham"  out  of  the 
very  stones  if  the  needs  of  His  service 
require  it. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

"And  when  ye  spread  forth  your  hands, 
I  will  hide  mine  eyes  from  you  ;  yea,  when 
ye  make  many  prayers,  I  will  not  hear : 
your  hands  are  full  of  blood."— Isaiah  i. 
15. 

The  inspired  poetry  of  Isaiah  is 
full  of  lofty  ideas  cloaked  in  rich 
and  striking  imagery.  It  breathes 
thoughts  which  search  the  perverted 
human  heart  to-day,  after  the  lapse 
of  centuries,  as  they  did  when  poured 
out  in  lamentation  and  upbraiding 
upon  the  people  to  whom  the  writer 
immediately  appealed.  This  message 
of  the  great  Hebrew  pro^Dhet,  so  suf- 
fused with  deep  feeling,  so  fragrant 
with  the  sorrow  of  the  soul  that  gave 
birth  to  it  under  a  Divine  impulsion, 
has  that  distinguishing  note  struck  by 
the  greatest  of  prophets  and  poets, — the 

190 


THE   OTHER    MAN's   COUNTRY.      191 

power  of  universal  appeal.  When  times 
of  great  pojDular  bewilderment  and  error 
come  again  to  men,  these  utterances 
of  the  Hebrew  poet  renew  their  youth. 
They  strike  a  chord  in  the  human 
breast  that  had  long  ceased  to  vibrate, 
and  awaken  consciences  which  have 
long  sunk  into  deadly  stupor. 

It  is  true  that  thousands  sitting  in 
the  formality  of  our  churches  may 
listen  unmoved  to  such  words,  finding 
in  them  no  more  beauty  or  power, 
being  no  more  aroused  by  them  than 
in  listening  to  a  dry  chronology.  The 
organ  tones  of  the  most  exalted  poetry 
affect  them  no  more  than  does  the 
monotonous  record  of  unimportant 
facts.  Regarding  both  as  of  inspired 
origin,  they  give  to  both  an  equally 
reverent  attention,  but  they  are  no 
more  stirred  to  activity  by  the  spiritual 
power  of  the  one  than  they  are  wearied 
by  the  prosaic  quality  of  the  other. 
Notwithstanding      this      indifference, 


192      THE  OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

which  may  mark  as  well  the  priest  at 
the  altar  as  the  plain  layman  in  the 
pew,  there  is  a  "  remnant,"  similar  to 
that  which  Isaiah  could  count  upon 
in  his  day  among  his  people,  from 
whom  can  be  expected  a  sympathetic 
hearing,  whose  attention  is  chained  by 
these  words,  whose  consciences  are 
awakened,  and  who,  by  some  means, 
discern  their  application  and  perceive 
that  they  are  spoken  to  them. 

Such  is  the  function  of  the  greatest 
of  Hebrew  poetry.  Its  power  is  ethi- 
cal. It  not  only  kindles  the  imagina- 
tion by  its  imagery,  or  awakens  the 
intellect  with  its  solemn  and  sublime 
thoughts,  or  pleases  the  ear  with  its 
music ;  it  appeals  to  the  heart  and  the 
conscience.  It  carries  a  message  at 
the  time  when  a  message  is  needed. 
It  deals  with  the  existence  of  sin.  It 
unfolds  the  mystery  of  iniquity  as  an 
actual  force  in  the  world.  Man  may 
see  his   own  distorted  image  in   the 


THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.       193 

mirror  which  the  prophet  holds  before 
him,  and,  notwithstanding  the  hideous 
aspect  of  those  contorted  features, 
which  passion,  greed,  and  ambition 
have  changed  from  their  natural  sym- 
metry of  line,  he  may  recognize  him- 
self in  what  he  sees.  Shakespeare,  in 
the  tragedy  of  Macbeth,  has  a  message 
for  the  student  of  humanity  somewhat 
similar  to  that  of  Isaiah.  He  depicts, 
with  a  power  large  in  outline,  finely  fin- 
ished in  detail,  the  movement  of  a  crime 
of  ambition,  from  its  apparently  pure 
beginning  in  loyalty  to  duty,  on 
through  unlawful  desire  for  a  crown, 
to  meditations  upon  murder  for  ob- 
taining it, — to  murder  itself;  then 
through  more  murders,  perpetrated 
to  conceal  the  first,  on  to  a  vio- 
lent, unrepentant  death.  The  per- 
ennial interest  which  attaches  to  this 
gloomy  masterpiece  of  the  great  dram- 
atist, the  field  of  study  which  the 
creation  of  his  genius  opens  to  every 

13 


194      THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY. 

new  generation  of  thoughtful  and  im- 
aginative minds,  attest  its  truth  to 
nature,  its  intellectual  greatness.  But 
it  does  not  bring  to  us  so  distinct  and 
personal  a  message  as  that  which  flows 
into  our  very  heart  from  the  glowing 
pen  of  Isaiah,  like  molten  metal  into 
the  precise  form  that  it  is  destined  to 
fill. 

The  distinction  has  often  been 
drawn  between  the  functions  of  the 
Jewish  prophet  and  the  Jewish  priest. 
The  priest,  as  the  appointed  minis- 
trant  of  an  elaborate  and  impressive 
ritual,  might  be  and  often  was  but 
little  concerned  with  those  profound 
questions  of  human  conduct  which  it 
was  the  prophet's  function  to  consider, 
and,  under  the  inspiration  of  God,  to 
pronounce  upon  to  the  people.  The 
prophet  was  a  man  whose  heart  God 
had  touched ;  who  was  profoundly  con- 
cerned with  what  the  people  of  God 
were  thinking  and  doing,  whether  in 


THE   OTHER    MAN's    COUNTRY.       195 

their  individual  lives  or  in  their  col- 
lective capacity  as  members  of  the 
nation.  His  lips  were  touched  by  the 
living  coal  from  the  altar.  His  mes- 
sage was  strongly  political  in  its  char- 
acter, and  he  jDronounced  judgment 
most  unequivocal,  most  unsiDaring, 
upon  the  acts  of  the  men  about  him. 
While  passing  events  were  hot  enough 
to  be  malleable,  he  smote  them  with 
the  hammer  of  God's  wrath,  or,  in 
accents  most  tender  and  persuasive, 
urged  men  to  repent  and  amend  their 
doings.  He  showed  an  intense  earnest- 
ness in  his  effort  to  conform  the  jDublic 
and  private  deeds  of  his  time  to  a 
severe  ethical  standard.  If  it  is  wrong 
to  preach  politics  in  the  high  and  true 
sense  of  that  word,  then  such  a  prophet 
as  Isaiah  was  a  great  sinner.  His  con- 
ception of  the  Divine  Being  was  of 
One  intensely  concerned  in  the  welfare 
of  His  people,  and  determined  that 
His  law  of  righteousness  should  con- 


196      THE   OTHER    MAN's    COUNTRY. 

trol  their  personal  and  national  life. 
Isaiali,  as  poet  and  prophet,  expresses 
the  indignation  of  God  at  the  hypoc- 
risy which  made  the  people  especially 
careful  about  ritual  observances  or 
sacrifices,  at  the  very  moment  when 
they  were  most  indifferent  to  violations 
of  the  moral  law.  ''  To  what  pur- 
pose," the  prophet  exclaims,  "is  the 
multitude  of  your  sacrifices  unto  me  ? 
Saith  the  Lord,  I  am  full  of  the  burnt 
oiferings  of  rams  and  the  fat  of  fed 
beasts ;  and  I  delight  not  in  the  blood 
of  bullocks,  or  of  lambs,  or  of  he 
goats."  The  strongest  emphasis  is 
placed  on  the  extreme  importance  of 
the  ethical  law  by  dei^icting  the  Al- 
mighty as  disgusted  and  angry  at  ser- 
vices not  only  meant  to  do  Him  honor, 
but  actually  instituted  by  His  com- 
mand. In  what  more  powerful  or 
dramatic  way  could  God's  estimate  be 
shown  of  the  worthlessness  of  all  re- 
ligious activity  or   ritual  observances 


THE   OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY.       197 

wliich  cloak  the  immoral  and  vicious 
life,  or  whicli  enable  men  witli  flip- 
pant smile  to  look  icily  upon  national 
deeds  of  violence  and  injustice  ?  And 
yet  it  seems  as  though  men  could 
never  learn  the  lesson  in  this  respect 
of  which  both  the  Old  and  the  New 
Testaments  are  full.  Like  the  burning 
denunciation  of  God  speaking  through 
Isaiah  is  that  of  the  Christ  Himself 
denouncing  hypocrisy,  and  again  as- 
serting that  the  moral  law  is  the  only 
basis  of  all  religion  that  is  acceptable 
in  God's  sight.  The  summary  of 
those  Ten  Commandments,  on  which 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  is  im- 
mutably built,  He  Himself  defined  as 
love  towards  God  and  love  towards 
man.  AVhenever,  therefore,  men's 
acts  are  in  violation  of  those  eternal 
principles,  the  corruption  of  sin  enters 
into  them ;  no  matter  how  men  may 
seek  to  disguise  the  ugly  truth  from 
their   eyes,  or   may   try  to   persuade 


198      THE  OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

themselves  that  they  are  really  honor- 
ing God  by  an  outward  service,  the 
evil  within  them  spreads  its  poison, 
vitiating  all  that  would  otherwise  be 
acceptable.  "  It  is  an  iniquity,  even 
this  solemn  meeting,"  exclaims  Isaiah, 
speaking  for  God, — and  then  with  what 
power  he  continues,  ''And  when  ye 
spread  forth  your  hands,  I  will  hide 
mine  eyes  from  you ;  yea,  when  ye 
make  many  prayers,  I  will  not  hear : 
your  hands  are  full  of  blood."  Isaiah's 
vision,  which  he  gave  to  the  people, 
was  not  of  wickedness  which  had  been 
committed  before  his  own  time.  It 
was  spoken  of  the  men  immediately 
about  him.  It  was  in  the  time  of  con- 
temj)oraneous  kings, — in  the  days  of 
Uzziah,  Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah, 
kings  of  Judah.  In  so  speaking,  the 
prophet  would  have  to  reckon  with 
these  living,  strong  men,  whose  hands 
he  declared  to  be  "  full  of  blood."  This 
element  of  courage  must  always  enter 


THE  OTHER    MAN's    COUNTRY.       199 

into  the  greatest  examples  of  public 
utterance.  Sublimity  of  appeal  can 
only  be  reached  when  there  is  loss  to  be 
encountered  in  making  it,  and  when 
the  life  through  which  it  issues  is  pure. 
The  men  who  profoundly  move  their 
fellows,  whose  work  is  most  lasting, 
are  not  the  priestly  rhetoricians  who 
tickle,  for  a  time,  the  ears  of  the 
crowd  with  bright  thoughts,  with 
pithy  epigrams  or  sounding  periods, 
but  who  do  not  dare  to  risk  their  pop- 
ularity by  a  plain  enunciation  of  the 
truth,  which  their  generation,  at  a 
great  crisis,  most  needs.  They  are 
those  who  see  only  a  necessary  truth 
in  danger  of  concealment,  and  who  at 
all  hazards  publish  it. 

But  what  man,  who  sees  a  great 
wrong  in  process  of  consummation, 
will  not  lift  up  his  voice  with  such 
power  as  he  may  be  possessed  of  to 
warn  those  who  will  listen  to  him  of 
what  is  going  on?    He  must  do  this 


200      THE   OTHER   MAN's    COUNTRY. 

at  whatever  cost,  if  the  cause  of  truth 
is  dear  to  him;  if,  as  in  the  case  of 
this  Philippine  war,  men's  lives  and 
his  country's  honor  and  welfare  hang 
in  the  balance.  If  the  prophet  Isaiah 
brought  God's  voice  to  bear  on  the 
political  questions  of  his  day,  when 
the  invasion  of  Sennacherib  or  the 
intrigues  of  Egypt  threatened  Israel, 
so  the  citizen  in  his  sovereign  capacity 
in  the  modern  United  States,  in  the 
closing  days  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
who  loves  the  right,  must  boldly  appeal 
to  the  ancient  immutable  ethical  law 
of  God.  The  American  citizen  has 
authority  to  hold  this  law  before  men's 
eyes,  forgetful  of  his  own  littleness, 
and  without  fear  of  presumption,  in 
protest  against  the  great  wrong  daily 
committed.  Just  as  Isaiah  nailed  his 
prophetic  poems  in  the  public  places 
where  the  whole  peoj^le  might  read  the 
message,  so  he  may  take  the  command- 
ments of  God,  which  the  Divine  Spirit 


THE   OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.      201 

heats  into  glowing  oracles  within  the 
heart  of  any  one  who  believes  in  them, 
and  must  measure  the  unjust  acts  of  the 
present  time  by  their  perfect  rectitude. 
He  must  face  the  national  sin  and 
speak  against  it  with  a  ''Thus  saith 
the  Lord."  God's  word  is  not  spoken 
as  a  rebuke  to  sin  long  passed  that  has 
no  need  of  further  censure, — we  kick 
not  the  dead  lion, — but  to  the  sin  of 
our  own  time.  From  its  chastisement 
some  good  may  come. 

There  are  some  to  whom  the  argu- 
ment of  this  closing  chapter  may  at 
first  appeal  with  little  force,  because 
they  are  doubtful  about  accepting  the 
theory  of  inspiration  on  which  it  is 
based.  How  do  we  know,  they  query, 
that  God  spoke  through  the  Jewish 
poet  Isaiah  to  the  people  of  his  time 
and  nation  ?  And  supposing  that  He 
did  so  speak,  is  an  application  of 
Isaiah's  denunciations  to  contempo- 
raneous events  in  the  United  States — 


202      THE  OTHER   MAn's   COUNTRY. 

beautiful,  majestic  though  they  be — 
justified  ? 

It  has  seemed  to  the  writer  that, 
whether  certain  of  his  readers  ac- 
cept, or  hold  in  suspense,  or  reject 
the  belief  that  the  Divine  Spirit  spoke 
through  Isaiah,  or  whether  they  be- 
lieve that  the  prophet's  burning  words 
had,  as  would  seem  to  them,  a  more 
direct  and  personal  origin,  their  p)Ower 
and  their  application  to  our  own 
deeds  should  not  be  materially  af- 
fected in  the  minds  of  all  those  who 
accept  moral  law  for  the  regulation 
of  human  conduct.  A  belief,  sincere 
and  unswerving,  in  the  supreme  au- 
thority of  the  moral  law  is,  after  all, 
a  necessary  preliminary  to  any  serious 
consideration  of  such  a  question  as  has 
been  treated  in  these  pages.  Without 
such  a  belief,  cruelty  and  kindness, 
justice  and  injustice,  right  and  wrong, 
are  idle  terms,  having  no  fixed  and 
precise  meaning  j  while  the  acts  which 


THE  OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.       203 

they  represent  so  completely  lose  their 
importance  that  it  is  not  worth  while 
in  the  hurry  of  life  to  spend  thought 
and  effort  upon  them.  Then  let  the 
mandates  of  chance  and  blind  folly 
issue  from  the  mysterious  depths  of  the 
unknown ;  let  men  suffer  or  rejoice, 
let  them  triumph  over  their  fellows, 
or  writhe  helpless  under  the  heel  of 
conscienceless  power  !  Those  who  ac- 
cept such  a  philosoj^hy  are  naturally 
indifferent  to  all  questions  of  the  class 
to  which  that  of  the  Philippines  be- 
longs. To  them,  obviously,  the  fore- 
going pages  are  not  addressed.  But 
minds  which  accept  the  ethical  stand- 
ard at  all,  who  believe  in  an  exact 
law  of  right  and  wrong,  and  who  wish 
to  see  that  law  extend  its  beneficent 
sway,  not  over  men's  personal  lives 
alone,  but  over  the  entire  realm  of 
their  relationship)  with  their  fellows, 
must,  if  they  accept  the  facts  of  our 
Philippine  war  as  the  author  has  pre- 


204      THE  OTHER   MAN's   COUNTRY.         ' 

sented  them,  feel  that  Isaiah's  awful 
tones  of  denunciation  and  warnins* — 
let  them  proceed  from  the  heart  of  the 
Divine  righteousness  itself  or  only 
from  the  lesser  human  conscience — 
reach  far  beyond  their  original  hearers, 
beyond  the  narrow  confines  of  Judea 
as  it  existed  seven  hundred  years  be- 
fore Christ,  to  deliver  their  message 
to  the  newest  nation  of  the  latest 
times. 


APPENDIX 


NOTE  I. 

Much  light  is  tlirowu  ui3on  the  oppres- 
sions the  Tagals  suffered  under  Spanish 
rule,  and  the  baneful  influence  the  friars 
exerted  upon  them  and  upon  Spanish  au- 
thorities in  the  islands,  in  an  article  written 
by  Frederick  H.  Sawyer,  a  member  of  the 
Institute  of  Civil  Engineers.  It  is  entitled, 
'^  The  Tagal :  His  Abilities,  and  Why  he 
rebelled,"  and  appeared  in  Senate  Docu- 
ment No.  62.     He  said,  in  part : 

''  I  resided  in  Luzon  fourteen  years,  visit- 
ing all  the  central  and  southern  provinces, 
and  made  trips  to  Mindoro,  Iloilo,  Cebu, 
Calayan,  and  Calamianes.  My  profession 
as  colonial  engineer  brought  me  into  con- 
tact with  all  classes  of  the  community,  from 
the  land-owner  or  planter  to  the  laborers  or 
mechanics  who  worked  under  my  direction. 
...  I  think  the  Tagals  and  other  natives 
might  be  easily  governed.     Latterly  they 

205 


206  APPENDIX. 

have  shown  themselves  rebellious  against 
the  Spanish  government,  and  especially 
against  the  priests,  but  the  causes  are  not 
far  to  seek.  In  former  times,  when  com- 
munication with  Spain  was  by  sailing-ves- 
sel around  the  Cape,  the  number  of  Span- 
ish in  this  island  was  small.  Each  province 
was  under  an  alcalde  (mayor),  who  was 
both  governor  and  judge.  .  .  .  All  the 
wealthy  parishes  had  Spanish  monks  as 
parish  priests,  the  poor  ones  had  native 
clergy.  The  government  was  carried  on 
by  the  old  ^Leyes  de  Indias.'  By  these 
wise  laws  the  natives  were  afforded  great 
protection  against  extortion.  .  .  .  These 
laws  also  conferred  upon  the  native  the  per- 
petual usufruct  of  all  the  land  that  he 
cleared  and  cultivated,  and  he  could  not  bo 
removed  from  it.  In  consequence,  most  of 
the  cultivated  land  in  Luzon  to-day  is  the 
property  of  the  natives.  .  .  .  The  taxes 
were  light,  the  principal  one  being  a  poll- 
tax,  called  the  'Tribute.'  The  customs 
duties  were  light,  and  the  machinery  for 
the  sugar  jjlantations  came  in  free  of  duty. 
A  friendly  feeling  then  existed  between  the 
Spaniards  and  the  natives  ;  the  maintenance 
of  such  an  economical  administration  was 
not  burdensome  to  the  latter.  .  .  .  "With  the 


NOTE   I.  207 

opening  of  the  Suez  Canal  and  tlie  subse- 
quent establisliment  of  a  Spanish  line  of 
steamers  all  this  changed.  Hordes  of  hun- 
gry Spaniards  arrived  by  every  line  of 
steamers,  for  whom  places  must  be  found. 
A  bureaucratic  administration  was  grad- 
ually substituted  for  the  old  paternal 
regime." 

The  writer  then  describes  in  detail  the 
creation  of  fictitious  departments,  bureaus, 
and  offices  to  meet  the  greedy  demand,  and 
the  consequent  steadily  increasing  burden  of 
taxation  on  the  people. 

*^  Additional  and  useless  ships  and  troops 
were  provided  on  the  Philippine  establish- 
ment, and  unnecessary  little  wars  were  got 
up  against  the  Sultan  of  lola  and  the  dattos 
of  Mindanao.  These  expeditions  involved 
great  loss  of  life  from  fever  among  the 
troops  and  great  expense  to  the  treasury. 
They  provided,  however,  pickings  for  the 
officials  and  profits  to  contractors.  .  .  . 
The  rich  were  blackmailed  under  threats 
of  being  reported  as  disaffected,  while  the 
poor  suffered  from  illegal  exactions.  .  .  . 
Serious  agrarian  troubles  arose  between  the 
monastic  orders  and  the  tenants  on  their 
vast  estates.  Towards  the  end  of  General 
Weyler's  government  a  perilous  state  of 


208  APPENDIX. 

unrest  prevailed.  But  the  arrival  of  Gen- 
eral Don  Emilio  Despujols,  Conde  de  Caspe, 
to  take  over  the  government  soon  produced 
better  feeling.  He  meted  out  justice  alike 
to  priest  and  tenant,  to  Spaniard  and  na- 
tive. .  .  .  The  natives,  seeing  justice  done 
them  for  the  first  time,  became  most  fervent 
admirers  of  Conde  de  Caspe,  whom  they 
looked  upon  as  a  savior.  He  became  the 
idol  of  the  people.  This  state  of  things 
was  unfortunately  of  short  duration, /or  the 
jpriests,  seeing  that  he  was  not  their  champion, 
oUained  his  recall  hy  cable.  It  is  said  that 
they  paid  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  in 
Madrid  to  obtain  this.  [Editor's  italics.] 
His  departure  was  a  wonderful  sight, 
l^ever  had  there  been  such  demonstra- 
tion of  affection  to  a  Governor- General. 
Innumerable  multitudes  of  natives  crowded 
the  shores  to  see  him  embark,  and  every 
steamer  belonging  to  the  port  accompa- 
nied him  far  out  to  sea.  AVith  the  sudden 
departure  of  Conde  there  settled  down  on 
the  native  mind  the  gloomy  conviction  that 
force  alone  could  plead  their  cause,  and  that 
their  only  hope  was  to  rise  in  arms." 

The   statement  of  General    Charles  A. 
Whittier,  U.S.V.,  before  the  United  States 


NOTE   I.  209 

Peace  Commission  at  Paris,  reported  in 
Senate  Document  62,  page  498,  also  bears 
on  this  point.     He  said  : 

"I  went  to  Manila  without  prejudice 
against  the  Spaniards  there.  .  .  .  ;  their 
actions  in  battle  and  in  civil  administra- 
tion all  convince  me  that  they  are  with- 
out principle  or  courage,  and  brutally, 
wickedly  cruel,  with  no  improvement  over 
325  years  ago  in  the  days  of  Philip  II." 
.  .  .  ''The  shooting  in  the  Lunetta  (their 
favorite  driveway)  of  dozens  of  so-called 
rebels  and  conspirators,  notably  Dr.  Eizal, 
a  man  of  literary  merit,  with  no  trial, 
vague  charges  of  belonging  to  secret  so- 
cieties, with  the  hope  of  making  their  vic- 
tims confess  to  what  in  many  cases  did  not 
exist,  was  made  a  fete,  advertised  in  the 
papers,  'There  will  be  music,'  and,  I  have 
been  frequently  told,  that  women  and  chil- 
dren attended  in  their  carriages.  The  tor- 
tures inflicted  with  the  same  view  of  elicit- 
ing confessions  are  too  brutal  to  commit 
the  narrative  to  paper."  .  .  ,  "The  ra- 
pacity, stealing,  and  immorality  of  the 
priests  are  beyond  question,  and  the  bitter- 
ness of  the  natives  against  them  has  been 
caused  and  aggravated  by  years  of  iniquity. 
To  demand  a  daughter  or  a  wife  from  a 

14 


210  APPENDIX. 

native  lias  been  a  common  occurrence. 
Failing  to  obtain  acquiescence,  the  lius- 
band's,  or  father's,  goods  have  been  seized, 
he  deported  or  thrown  into  jail  under  an 
order  easily  obtained  from  the  government 
in  Manila.  The  priest's  influence  was  par- 
amount—they are  rich,  and  fathers  (not 
only  of  the  church)  despised  and  hated  by 
the  people." 

The  following  extracts  from  Mr.  John 
Foreman's  book,  '^  The  Philippine  Islands," 
bear  directly  on  this  subject : 

'^The  mysterious  deaths  of  General  So- 
lano (in  August,  1860)  and  of  Zamora,  the 
Bishop-elect  of  Cebu  (in  1873),  occurred  so 
opportunely  for  Philippine  monastic  am- 
bition, that  little  doubt  existed  in  the  pub- 
lic mind  as  to  who  were  the  real  criminals. 
When  I  first  arrived  in  Manila,  nearly 
twenty  years  ago,  a  fearful  crime  was  still 
being  commented  on.  Father  Piernavieja, 
formerly  parish  priest  of  San  Miguel  de 
Mayumo,  had  recently  committed  a  second 
murder.  His  first  victim  was  a  native 
youth,  his  second  a  native  woman  enceinte. 
The  public  voice  could  not  be  raised  very 
loudly  there  against  the  priests,  but  the 
scandal  was  so  great  that  the  crimiual  friar 


NOTE   I.  211 

"was  sent  to  anotlier  province — Cavite — 
where  he  still  celebrated  the  holy  sacrifice 
of  the  Eucharist.  Is"early  t^vo  decades 
afterwards — in  January  1897 — this  rascal 
met  with  a  terrible  death  at  the  hands  of 
the  rebels."     (Page  219.) 

''I  knew  a  money-grabbing  parish  priest 
— a  friar — who  publicly  announced  raffles 
from  the  pulpit  of  the  church  from  which 
he  preached  morality  and  devotion.  On 
one  occasion  a  $200  watch  was  put  up  for 
$500,  at  another  time  he  raffled  dresses  for 
the  women.  Under  the  pretext  of  being  a 
pious  institution,  he  established  a  society 
of  women,  called  the  Association  of  St. 
Joseph  (Cofradia  de  San  Jose),  upon  whom 
he  imposed  the  very  secular  duties  of  do- 
mestic service  in  the  convent  and  raffle- 
ticket  hawking.  He  had  the  audacity  to 
dictate  to  a  friend  of  mine — a  planter,  Don 

Leandro  L ,  the  value  of  the  gifts  he 

was  to  make  him ;  and  when  the  planter 
was  at  length  wearied  of  his  importunities, 
he  conspired  with  a  Si^aniard  to  dex^rive 
my  friend  of  his  estate,  alleging  that  he 
was  not  the  real  owner.  Failing  in  this, 
he  stirred  up  the  petty  governor  and  head- 
man against   him.      The   petty   governor 


212  APPENDIX. 

was  urged  to  litigation,  and  wlien  he  re- 
ceived an  unfavorable  sentence,  the  priest, 
enraged  at  the  abortive  result  of  his  ma- 
licious intrigues,  actually  left  his  vicarage 
to  accompany  his  litigious  protege  to  the 
chief  judge  of  the  province  in  quest  of  a 
reversion  of  the  sentence."     (Page  221.) 

''Moreover,  the  religious  corporations 
possessed  large  private  revenues.  Their 
investments  in  Hong  Kong  are  extensive. 
The  Austin  and  Dominican  Friars  in  par- 
ticular held  very  valuable  real  property 
in  the  provinces  near  Manila,  which  was 
rented  out  to  the  native  agriculturists  on 
tyrannical  conditions.  On  the  Laguna  de 
Bay  shore  the  rent  was  raised  as  the 
natives,  at  their  own  expense,  improved 
their  holdings.  Leases  were  granted  for 
the  nominal  term  of  three  years,  but  the 
receipts  given  for  the  rent  were  very  cun- 
ningly worded.  Some  have  been  shown  to 
me ;  neither  the  amount  of  money  paid, 
nor  the  extent  of  the  land  rented,  nor  its 
situation  were  mentioned  on  the  document, 
so  that  the  tenant  was  constantly  at  the 
mercy  of  the  owners.  The  native  planters 
were  much  incensed  at  the  treatment  they 
received  from  these  landowners,  and  their 


NOTE   I.  213 

numerous  ^veil-founded  complaints  formed 
part  of  the  general  outcry  against  the 
priesthood.  The  baili£fs  of  these  corpora- 
tion lands  were  unordained  brothers  of  the 
Order.  They  resided  in  the  Estate  Houses, 
and  by  com-tesy  were  styled  'fathers'  by 
the  natives.  They  were  under  certain  re- 
ligious vows,  but,  not  being  entitled  to  say 
Mass,  they  were  termed  'legos/  or  ignorant 
men,  by  their  own  Order."     (Page  226.) 

''Each  Order  had  its  procurator  in  Ma- 
drid, who  took  up  the  cudgels  in  defence 
of  his  corporation's  interest  in  the  Philip- 
pines whenever  this  was  menaced.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Church,  as  a  body  politic, 
dispensed  no  charity,  but  received  all.  It 
was  always  begging;  always  above  civil 
laws  and  taxes;  claimed  immunity,  pro- 
claimed poverty,  and  inculcated  in  others 
charity  to  itself."     (Page  226.) 

"They  were  usually  taken  from  the 
peasantry  and  families  of  lowly  station. 
As  a  rule  they  had  little  or  no  secular  edu- 
cation, and,  regarding  them  apart  from 
their  religious  training,  they  might  be  con- 
sidered a  very  ignorant  class— and  the 
Austins  the  most  polished  of  all." 


214  APPENDIX. 

"The  ecclesiastical  archives  of  the  Phil- 
ippines abound  with  proofs  of  the  bitter 
and  tenacious  strife  sustained,  not  only 
between  the  civil  and  Church  authorities, 
but  even  among  the  religious  communities 
themselves."     (Page  227.) 

"The  Austin  Friars  attributed  to  the 
Jesuits  the  troubles  with  the  Mussulmans 
of  Mindanao  and  Sulu,  and,  in  their  turn, 
the  Jesuits  protested  against  what  they  con- 
ceived to  be  the  bad  policy  of  the  govern- 
ment adopted  under  the  influence  of  the 
other  Orders  in  Manila.  So  distinct  were 
their  interests,  that  the  Augustine  chron- 
icles refer  to  the  other  Orders  as  different 
religions."     (Page  227.) 


NOTE  II. 


Dr.  Eizal  is  spoken  of  in  Lieutenant 
Calkins'  article  as  "A  man  of  science,  who 
was  a  native  of  Laguna  Province.  The 
family  history  acknowledged  some  slight 
mixture  of  Chinese  blood  and  some  moder- 
ate degree  of  wealth.  After  passing  through 
the  College  and  University  of  Manila,  Jos^ 


NOTE  II.  215 

Eizal  Tvent  to  Europe  to  complete  Ms  medi- 
cal education.  He  \voii  the  degree  of  doctor 
of  medicine  and  doctor  of  philosophy  from 
Spanish  and  German  Universities,  acquiring 
the  knowledge  of  seven  languages,  and  such 
proficiency  as  an  oculist  that  he  was  made 
first  assistant  in  the  office  of  a  world-known 
specialist  in  Vienna." 

The  charges  against  Eizal  were  '^  agitation 
for  independence"  and  hostility  to  Spain 
since  his  nineteenth  year.  He  was  accused 
of  having  written  ''depreciative  phrases" 
concerning  the  authorities  and  the  Church 
in  his  early  novels.  Affidavits  procured 
from  men  in  solitary  confinement  by  threats 
of  torture  were  also  read  in  court.  During 
the  last  night  before  his  execution  Eizal 
wrote  a  poem  addressed  to  his  country, 
which  is  strikingly  illustrative  of  his  re- 
finement of  sentiment  and  patriotic  feel- 
ing. 

The  following  translation  of  some  verses 
of  this  poem  appeared  in  the  Springfield 
Mepiiblican : 

'^ Farewell,  adored  Fatherland;  our  Eden 
lost,  farewell ; 
Farewell,  O  sun's  loved  region,  pearl  of 
the  eastern  sea ; 


216  APPENDIX. 

Gladly  I  die  for  thy  dear  sake ;  yea,  thou 

knowest  well 
Were  my  sad  life  more  radiant  far  than 

mortal  tongue  could  tell, 
Yet  would  I  give  it  gladly,  joyously  for 

thee. 


*'Pray  for  those  who  died  alone,  betrayed 
in  wretchedness ; 
For  those  who  suffered  for  thy  sake  tor- 
ments and  misery ; 
For  broken  hearts  of  mothers,  who  weep 

in  bitterness ; 
For  widows,  tortured  captives,  orphans 
in  deep  distress  ; 
And  pray  for  thy  dear  self,  that  thou 
may'st  finally  be  free. 

''  Farewell,  adored  country  ;  I  leave  my  all 
with  thee. 
Beloved  Philippines,  whose  soil  my  feet 
have  trod, 
I  leave  with  thee  my  life's  love  deep ;  I 

go  where  all  are  free  : 
I  go  where  are  no  tortures,   where  the 
oppressor's  power  shall  be 
Destroyed,  where  faith  kills  not,  where 
He  who  reigns  is  God." 


NOTE   II.  217 

In  1897,  Dr.  Ferdinand  Blumentritt,  Be- 
gins Professor  in  the  University  of  Leit- 
meritz,  Austiia,  prepared  a  biographical 
sketch  of  Dr.  Eizal,  which  vras  published 
in  a  special  supplement  for  the  International 
Archives  of  Ethnology.  This  vras  translated 
from  the  original  German  by  Howard  W. 
Bray,  who  added  some  notes  and  an  epilogue, 
and  published  at  Singapore,  China,  in  1898. 
Dr.  Blumentritt  had  abundant  opportunity 
to  study  the  life  and  work  of  Dr.  Eizal,  and 
his  statements  are  based  largely  on  personal 
observation.     He  says  of  him  : 

^'Xot  only  is  Eizal  the  most  prominent 
man  of  his  own  people,  but  the  greatest  man 
the  Malayan  race  has  produced.  His  mem- 
ory will  never  perish  in  his  fatherland,  and 
future  generations  of  Spaniards  wiU  yet 
learn  to  utter  his  name  with  respect  and 
reverence." 

In  this  volume  Dr.  Blumentritt  reproduces 
an  article  written  by  Dr.  Eizal  as  a  result 
of  his  ethnological  studies.  It  is  extremely 
interesting,  and  shows  the  writer  to  be  a 
close  student  of  human  natnre  and  a  keen 
observer.     He  says : 

"  (4)  The  disparaging  criticism  of  colored 
races  by  EuroiDcans  can  be  understood,  but 
it  is  by  no  means  justified.     Ko  feeble  per- 


218  APPENDIX. 

sons  wander  to  exotic  lands,  but  only  ener- 
getic men  who  not  only  come  out  prejudiced 
against  the  native  races,  but  also  with  the 
firm  conviction  that  they  have  been  called 
upon  to  exercise  dominion  over  them.  It 
is  now  known  what  few  Europeans  know, 
that  the  colored  races  fear  the  brutality  of 
the  white  race,  and  thus  the  colored  race 
labors  under  a  disadvantage  in  the  service 
of  the  former,  especially  as  they,  of  course, 
cannot  reply  to  them  in  printed  works. 
When  one  further  considers  that  these 
colored  races  belong  principally  to  the 
lower  social  classes,  the  verdict  of  the 
white  race  has  the  same  worth  as  that  of  an 
educated  Tagal  travelling  through  France 
and  Germany,  judging  the  French  and  Ger- 
mans from  the  milk-maids,  servants,  waiters, 
or  coachmen. 

''  (5)  The  misfortune  of  the  native  race  is 
merely  due  to  the  color  of  their  skin.  In 
Europe  there  are  many  men  and  women 
coming  from  the  lowest  dregs  of  society, 
who  have  raised  themselves  to  positions  of 
the  greatest  importance  and  honor.  These 
self-made  men  are  of  two  kinds.  Some 
adapt  themselves  to  the  surroundings  of 
their  new  sphere,  and  their  lowly  birth  is 
not  considered  any  shame  ;  on  the  contrary, 


NOTE  II.  219 

they  are  honored  for  being  self-made  men. 
Others  are  the  insolent  parvenus,  vho  are 
laughed  at  and  despised. 

''A  colored  man  generally  finds  himself 
in  the  latter  category,  however  noble  and 
perfect  a  gentleman  he  may  be,  because  his 
face  is  an  unmistakable  proof  of  his  descent, 
causing  him  to  feel  himself  humiliated  owing 
to  the  prejudices  of  the  Europeans.  They 
will  pick  holes  in  him,  and  any  small  slip 
which  would  be  overlooked  in  a  cobbler's 
son  who  had  been  created  a  baron,  and 
which  might  at  any  time  happen  even  to  a 
pure-blooded  descendant  of  a  Montmorency, 
would  be  laughed  at  with  the  remark, 
'  What  could  you  expect  ?  he  is  only  a  col- 
ored man!'  Should  he  be  guilty  of  no 
breach  of  etiquette,  and  be  a  skilful  advo- 
cate or  a  clever  physician,  this  would  not 
be  considered  a  natural  matter  of  course, 
but  he  might  be  admired  with  the  same 
condescending  benevolence  as  a  well- trained 
poodle,  but  never  as  an  equal  being. 

"The  circumstance  that  in  the  tropics 
all  the  domestic  servants  consist  of  natives, 
is  responsible,  to  a  great  degree,  for  the  dis- 
approving criticism  of  the  colored  man.  If 
a  German  housewife  complains  about  her 
servants,  she  would  surely  not  go  so  far  on 


220  APPENDIX. 

that  account  and  accuse  the  whole  German 
nation  of  bad  qualities,  simply  because  her 
servants  "vrere  not  orderly.  But  this  is  done 
without  the  slightest  compunction  by  those 
Europeans  living  in  the  tropics,  who  then 
calmly  sleep  the  sleep  of  the  just !  Mer- 
chants carry  their  unfavorable  prejudices 
against  the  colored  race  still  further.  They 
come  to  the  tropics  to  enrich  themselves  as 
quickly  as  possible.  This  is  only  possible 
when  they  are  able  to  buy  at  extremely  low 
prices  in  the  country.  The  natives,  how- 
ever, consider  such  transactions  not  as  fair 
business ;  they  believe  the  white  race  are 
trying  to  deceive  them,  and  take  means  on 
their  part  also  to  get  the  advantage  of  the 
European,  whilst  among  themselves  they 
show  far  more  honesty.  The  Europeans 
consequently  denounce  them  as  liars  and 
deceivers ;  but  that  they,  as  Europeans, 
unconscientiously  prey  upon  the  ignorance 
of  the  natives,  never  appears  to  enter  their 
heads — on  the  contrary,  the  white  race  be- 
lieve they  are  morally  entitled  to  trade  with 
them  in  immoral  ways." 


NOTE   III.  221 


NOTE  in. 

AaXJINALDO  AKD  COXSUL  PEATT. 

A  DETAILED  account  of  what  occurred 
during  the  interviews  between  Aguinaldo 
and  Mr.  Pratt  was  published  in  the  Singa- 
pore, China,  Free  Press  of  May  4,  1898. 
This  Mr.  Pratt  enclosed  with  his  report  to 
the  State  Department,  with  the  assurance 
from  him  that  this  statement  was  "sub- 
stantially correct."     It  is  as  follows  : 

"Just  before  the  actual  outbreak  of  hos- 
tilities between  Sixain  and  the  United  States 
Singapore  has  been  the  scene  of  a  secret 
political  arrangement  by  which  General 
Emilio  Aguinaldo  y  Fami,  the  supreme 
head  of  the  revolutionary  movement  in  the 
Philippines,  has  entered  into  direct  rela- 
tions with  Admiral  Dewey,  Commander  of 
the  American  squadron  in  China  waters, 
while  that  officer  was  still  at  Hong  Kong. 

"In  order  to  understand  and  appreciate 
this  interesting  historical  incident  properly, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  allude  to  the  causes 
leading  to  the  second  appearance  of  the 


222  APPENDIX, 

rebellion  In  the  Pliilippines,  which  was 
almost  coincident  with,  though  not  insti- 
gated by,  the  strained  relations  between 
Spain  and  the  United  States. 

''In  December  last  General  Primo  de 
Eivera,  who  above  all  other  Spanish  gen- 
erals has  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
country  and  its  inhabitants,  found  the  posi- 
tion untenable  for  both  parties.  Neither  of 
these  had  the  remotest  chance  of  terminating 
the  rebellion  decisively,  the  rebels  secure 
in  their  mountain  fastnesses,  the  Spaniards 
holding  the  chief  towns  and  villages  on  the 
coast.  Primo  de  Eivera  therefore  sent  two 
well-known  Philippine  natives  occupying 
high  positions  in  Manila  to  propose  terms 
of  peace  to  General  Aguinaldo  in  Biac-na 
Bato.  A  council  of  the  revolutionary  gov- 
ernment was  held  in  which  it  was  agreed  to 
lay  down  arms  on  condition  of  certain  re- 
forms being  introduced.  The  principal  of 
these  were  : 

"1.  The  expulsion,  or  at  least  seculariza- 
tion, of  the  religious  orders,  and  the  in- 
hibition of  these  orders  from  all  ofScial 
vetoes  in  civil  administration. 

"2.  A  general  amnesty  for  all  rebels,  and 
guarantees  for  their  personal  security  and 
from    the   vengeance    of   the    friars    and 


NOTE  III.  223 

parish  priests  after  returning  to  tlieir 
homes. 

"3.  Eadical  reforms  to  curtail  the  glaring 
abuses  in  public  administration. 

^'i.  Freedom  of  the  press  to  denounce 
ofiQ.cial  corruption  and  blackmailing. 

"5.  Eepresentation  in  the  Spanish  Par- 
liament. 

''6.  Abolition  of  the  iniquitous  system 
of  secret  deportation  of  political  suspects, 
etc. 

"Primo  de  Eivera  agreed  to  these  re- 
forms in  sum  and  substance,  but  made  it  a 
condition  that  the  principal  rebel  leaders 
must  leave  the  country  during  his  Majesty's 
pleasure.  As  these  had  lost  all  their  prop- 
erty or  had  it  confiscated  and  plundered, 
the  government  agreed  to  provide  them 
•with  funds  to  live  in  a  becoming  manner 
on  foreign  soil. 

''The  rebels  laid  down  their  arms,  and 
peace  was  apparently  secured,  but  no 
sooner  had  they  done  so,  and  returned  to 
their  houses,  than  the  intransigent  re- 
ligious orders  commenced  at  once  to  again 
persecute  them  and  trump  uj)  imaginary 
charges  to  procure  their  re-arrest.  The 
Spanish  Government  on  its  side,  imagining 
itself  secure,  desisted  from  carrying  out  the 


224  APPENDIX. 

promised  reforms,  thinking  another  trick 
like  that  played  on  the  Cubans  after  the 
peace  of  Zanjon,  arranged  by  Martinez 
Campos,  might  succeed.  The  Filipinos, 
however,  with  this  business  before  them, 
refused  to  be  made  du])es  of,  and  having 
taken  up  arms  again,  not  alone  in  the  im- 
mediate districts  round  Manila  but  through- 
out the  Archipelago,  which  merely  awaits 
the  signal  from  Aguinaldo  to  rise  en  masse, 
no  doubt  carrying  with  them  the  native 
troops  hitherto  loyal,  and  for  which  loyal 
service  they  have  received  no  thanks,  but 
only  ingratitude. 

''General  Emilio  Aguinaldo,  accom- 
panied by  his  aide-de-camp,  Colonel  Mar- 
celo  H.  del  Pilar,  and  his  private  secretary, 
Mr.  J.  Leyba,  arrived  incognito  in  Singa- 
pore from  Saigon  on  the  21st  April,  1898. 
In  Saigon,  where  Aguinaldo  had  remained 
for  one  week,  he  had  interviews  with  one 
or  two  old  Filipino  friends  now  resident 
there.  The  special  purpose  of  Aguinaldo' s 
visit  to  Singajjore  was  to  consult  other 
friends  here,  particularly  Mr.  Howard  "W. 
Bray,  an  old  and  intimate  English  friend 
for  fifteen  years  resident  in  the  Philippines, 
about  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  islands 
generally.    Particularly  as   to   the  possi- 


NOTE   III.  225 

bility  of  war  between  the  United  States 
and  Spain,  and  wliether  in  such  an  event 
the  United  States  would  eventually  recog- 
nize the  independence  of  the  Philippines, 
provided  he  lent  his  co-operation  to  the 
Americans  in  the  conquest  of  the  country. 
The  situation  of  the  moment  was  this  :  that 
the  conditions  of  the  honorable  peace  con- 
cluded on  the  14:th  of  December,  1897,  be- 
tween President  Aguinaldo,  on  behalf  of 
the  Philippine  rebels,  and  H.  E.  Governor- 
General  Primo  de  Eivera,  on  behalf  of 
Spain,  had  not  been  carried  out,  although 
their  immediate  execution  had  been  vouched 
for  in  that  agreement.  These  reforms  would 
have  provided  protection  to  the  people 
against  the  organized  oppression  and  ra- 
pacity of  the  religious  fraternities,  would 
have  secured  improved  civil  and  criminal 
procedure  in  courts,  and  have  guaranteed 
in  many  ways  improvements  in  the  fiscal 
and  social  conditions  of  the  people.  The 
repudiation  by  the  Spanish  Government  of 
these  conditions,  made  by  General  Primo 
de  Eivera,  now  left  the  rebel  leaders,  who 
had  for  the  most  part  gone  to  Hong  Kong, 
free  to  act.  And  it  was  in  x)ursuance  of 
that  freedom  of  action  that  Aguinaldo 
again    sought    counsel    of  his    friends    in 


226  APPENDIX. 

Saigon  and  Singapore,  with,  a  view  to  the 
immediate  resumption  of  operations  in  the 
Philippines. 

"  Meantime  Mr.  Bray,  whose  assistance  to 
this  journal  on  matters  connected  with  the 
Philippines  has  been  very  considerable,  as 
our  readers  will  liave  seen,  was  introduced 
by  the  editor  of  the  Singapore  Free  Press  to 
Mr.  Spencer  Pratt,  Consul- General  of  the 
United  States,  who  was  anxious,  in  view  of 
contingencies,  to  learn  as  much  as  possible 
about  the  real  condition  of  the  Philippines. 
It  was  a  few  days  after  this  that  Aguinaldo 
arrived  incognito  in  Singapore,  when  he 
at  once  met  his  friends,  including  Mr. 
Bray. 

'^  Affairs  now  becoming  more  warlike,  Mr. 
Bray,  after  conversation  with  Mr.  Spencer 
Pratt,  eventually  arranged  an  interview  be- 
tween that  gentleman  and  General  Agui- 
naldo, which  took  place  late  on  the  evening 
of  Sunday,  the  24th  April,  at  ^The  Man- 
sion,' Eiver  Yalley  Eoad.  There  were 
present  on  that  occasion  General  Emilio 
Aguinaldo  y  Fami,  Mr.  E.  Spencer  Pratt, 
Consul-General  TJnited  States  of  America, 
Mr.  Howard  W.  Bray,  Aguinaldo' s  x^rivate 
secretary,  Mr.  J.  Leyba,  Colonel  M.  H.  del 
Pilar,  and  Dr.  Marcelino  Santos. 


NOTE  III.  227 

"During  this  conference,  at  whicli  Mr. 
Bray  acted  as  interpreter,  General  Agui- 
naldo  explained  to  the  American  Consul- 
General,  ]\Ir.  Pratt,  tlie  incidents  and  ob- 
jects of  tlie  late  rebellion,  and  described 
tlie  present  disturbed  state  of  the  country. 
General  Aguinaldo  then  proceeded  to  detail 
tlie  nature  of  tbe  co-operation  be  could  give, 
in  wbicb  be,  in  the  event  of  tbe  American 
forces  from  tbe  squadron  landing  and  taking 
possession  of  Manila,  ^vould  guarantee  to 
maintain  order  and  discipline  among  tbe 
native  troops  and  inbabitants,  in  tbe  same 
humane  way  in  wbicb  be  bad  bitberto  con- 
ducted tbe  war,  and  prevent  tbem  from  com- 
mitting outrages  on  defenceless  Spaniards 
beyond  tbe  inevitable  in  fair  and  honor- 
able warfare.  He  further  declared  his 
ability  to  establish  a  proper  and  responsible 
government  on  liberal  principles,  and  would 
be  willing  to  accept  the  same  terms  for  the 
country  as  tbe  United  States  intend  giving 
Cuba. 

''The  Consul-General  of  tbe  United 
States,  coinciding  with  the  general  views 
expressed  during  tbe  discussion,  placed  him- 
self at  once  in  telegraphic  communication 
with  Admiral  Dewey  at  Hong  Kong,  be- 
tween whom  and  Mr.  Pratt  a  frequent  in- 


228  APPENDIX. 

terchange  of  telegrams  consequently  took 
place.  * 

"As  a  result  another  j)i"ivate  interview 
was  arranged  at  the  American  Consular  resi- 
dence, at  the  Eaffles  Hotel,  between  General 
Aguinaldo,  Mr.  Spencer  Pratt,  Mr.  Howard 
Bray,  and  Mr.  Leyba,  x^rivate  secretary  to 
General  Aguinaldo. 

"  As  a  sequel  to  this  interview,  and  in 
response  to  the  urgent  request  of  Admiral 
Dewey,  General  Aguinaldo  left  Singapore 
for  Hong  Kong  by  the  first  available 
steamer,  the  P.  &  O.  Malacca,  on  Tues- 
day, the  26th  April  at  noon,  accompanied 
by  his  aide-de-camp.  Captain  del  Pilar, 
and  Mr.  Leyba,  his  private  secretary. 

''General  Aguinaldo' s  policy  embraces 
the  independence  of  the  Philipx^ines,  whose 
internal  affairs  would  be  controlled  under 
European  and  American  advisers,  f    Amer- 

*  It  was  at  this  time  that  Consul  Pratt  tele- 
graphed to  Admiral  Dewey,  "Aguinaldo  insurgent 
leader  here.  "Will  come  Hong  Kong  arrange  with 
Commodore  for  general  co-operation  insurgents 
Manila  if  desired.    Telegraph." 

Dewey's  reply  was:  "Tell  Aguinaldo  come, 
Boon  as  possible." 

t  Compare  this  with  the  statement  in  the  preliminary 
report  of  the  Philipinne  Commission  after  reference  has 


NOTE   III.  229 

ican  protection  -would  be  desirable  tempo- 
rarily, on  tlie  same  lines  as  that  -wliicli 
miglit  be  instituted  hereafter  in  Cuba.  The 
ports  of  the  Philippines  would  be  free  to 
the  trade  of  the  -world,  safeguards  being 
enacted  against  an  influx  of  Chinese  aliens 
-who  -would  comxDcte  -with  the  industrious 
population  of  the  country.  There  -would 
be  a  complete  reform  of  the  present  corrupt 
judicature  of  the  country  under  experienced 
European  law  officers.  Entire  freedom  of 
the  press  -would  be  established,  as  -well  as 
the  right  of  public  meeting.  There  would 
be  general  religious  toleration,  and  steps 
would  be  taken  for  the  abolition  and  expul- 
sion of  tyrannical  religious  fraternities  who 
have  laid  such  strong  hands  on  every  branch 
of  civil  administration.  Full  provision 
would  be  given  for  the  exploitation  of  the 
natural  resources  and  wealth  of  the  country 
by  roads  and  railways,  and  by  the  removal 
of  hinderances  to  enterprise  and  investment 

been  made  to  Aguinaldo's  removal  of  his  camp  from 
Cavite  to  Bacoor  under  orders  from  Admiral  Dewey  : 
^^  now  for  the  first  time  arose  the  idea  of  independence." 
This  is  a  remarkable  misstatement  since  the  idea  had 
been  proclaimed  to  the  world  specifically  through  the 
medium  of  a  newspaper  before  Aguinaldo  came  to 
Cavite,     (Editor's  italics.) 


230  APPENDIX. 

of  capital.  Spanisli  officials  -^oiilcl  be  re- 
moved to  a  i)lace  of  safety  until  opportunity 
offered  to  return  th.em  to  Spain.  The  pres- 
ervation of  public  safety  and  order  and  tbe 
cbecking  of  reprisals  against  Spaniards 
would,  naturally,  have  to  be  a  first  care  of 
the  government  in  the  new  state  of  tilings." 

Tbe  foregoing  statement,  taken  in  con- 
nection with,  the  following  article  which 
{appeared  in  the  Singapore,  China,  Free 
Fress,  June  9,  1898,  removes  all  doubt  as  to 
the  nature  of  the  understanding  between 
Consul  Pratt  and  the  Filipino  leaders  : 

"  A  little  after  five  p.m.,  last  evening,  a 
numerous  deputation,  consisting  of  all  the 
Filipinos    resident    in    Singapore,    waited 
upon  the  American  Consul- General,    Mr. 
Spencer  Pratt,  at  his  residence,  and  pre- 
sented him  with  an  address,  congratulatory 
of  the  American  successes  in  the  present 
I        war,  and  expressive  of  the  thanks  of  the 
\\        Filipino  community  here  for  the  aid  now 
I        being  given  by  the  United  States  to  the 
aspirations  of  the  Filipino  people  for  na- 
tional freedom.      There  were  also  present 
Mr.  W.  G.  St.  Clair,  editor  of  the  Singa- 
pore Free  Fress ;  Mr.  A.  Eeid,  editor  of  the 
Straits  Tmes,  and  Mr.  Howard  W.  Bray, 


NOTE   III.  231 

•wliose  active  sympatliies  with  the  Fili- 
pino nation  are  so  well  known  as  to  enable 
him  to  be  styled  ^Aguinaldo's  English- 
man.' Mr.  Spencer  Pratt  and  Mr.  Bray 
both  wore  the  badge  of  the  Liga  Philippina, 
presented  to  them  by  General  Aguinaldo 
during  his  incognito  visit  to  Singapore. 

'■ '  After  Mr.  Bray  had  jDcrformed  the  cere- 
mony of  introducing  the  deputation  to 
Consul-General  Spencer  Pratt,  Dr.  Santos, 
the  chief  Philij)pine  refugee  here,  who  has 
been  educated  at  Barcelona  and  Paris,  de- 
livered the  address,  of  which  the  following 
is  a  translation : 

"  ^  To  the  Sonorable  Edward  Spencer  Fratt, 
Consul-General   of   the    United    States   of 
HoHh  America,  Singajpore : 
"  'SiE, — The  Filipino  colony  resident  in 
this  port,  composed  of  representatives  of 
all  social  classes,  have  come  to  present  their 
respects  to  you  as  the  legitimate  representa- 
tive of  the  great  and  powerful  American 
Eepublic,  in  order  to  express  our  eternal 
gratitude  for  the  moral  and  material  j)rotec- 
tion  extended  by  Admiral  Dewey  to  our 
trusted  leader.  General  Emilio  Aguinaldo, 
who  has  been  driven  to  take  up  arms  in 
the  name  of  eight  millions  of  Filipinos  in 


232  APPENDIX. 

defence  of  those  very  principles  of  justice 
and  liberty  of  which  your  country  is  the 
foremost  champion. 

*' '  Our  countrymen  at  home,  and  those  of 
us  residing  here,  refugees  from  Spanish 
misrule  and  tyranny  in  our  beloved  native 
land,  hope  that  the  United  States,  your 
nation,  persevering  in  its  humane  policy, 
will  efScaciously  second  the  programme  ar- 
ranged between  you,  sir,  and  General  Agui- 
naldo  in  this  port  of  Singapore,  and  secure 
to  us  our  independence  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  United  States. 

*^ '  Our  warmest  thanks  are  especially  due 
to  you,  sir,  j)ersonally,  for  having  been  the 
first  to  cultivate  relations  with  General 
Aguinaldo,  and  arrange  for  his  co-operation 
with  Admu-al  Dewey,  thus  supporting  our 
aspirations  which  time  and  subsequent  ac- 
tions have  developed  and  caused  to  meet 
with  the  applause  and  approbation  of  your 
nation. 

"  ^Finally,  we  request  you  to  convey  to 
your  illustrious  President  and  the  American 
people  and  to  Admiral  Dewey  our  senti- 
ments of  sincere  gratitude  and  our  most 
fervent  wishes  for  their  prosperity.' 

"The  address,  which  was  written  in 
Spanish  and  read  in  French  by  Dr.  Santos, 


NOTE  III.  233 

the  spokesman,  was  replied  to  in  French  by- 
Mr.  Spencer  Pratt,  to  the  following  effect : 
''^Gentlemen,  the  honor  you  have  con- 
ferred upon  me  is  so  unexpected  that  I 
cannot  find  appropriate  words  with  which 
to  thank  you,  with  which  to  reply  to  the 
eloquent  address  you  have  just  read  to  me. 
Eest  assured,  however,  that  I  fully  under- 
stand and  sincerely  appreciate  the  motives 
that  have  prompted  your  present  action, 
and  that  your  words,  which  have  sunk 
deep  in  my  heart,  shall  be  faithfully  re- 
peated to  the  President,  to  Admiral  Dewey, 
and  to  the  American  peox^le,  from  whom  I 
am  sure  that  they  will  meet  with  full  and 
generous  response.  A  little  over  a  month 
ago  the  world  resounded  with  the  i)raise 
of  Admiral  Dewey  and  his  fellow- officers 
and  men  for  a  glorious  victory  won  by  the 
American  Asiatic  squadron  in  the  Bay  of 
Manila.  To-day  we  have  the  news  of  the 
brilliant  achievements  of  your  own  distin- 
guished leader.  General  Emilio  Aguinaldo, 
co-operating  on  land  with  the  Americans  at 
sea.  You  have  just  reason  to  be  proud  of 
what  has  been  and  is  being  accomplished 
by  General  Aguinaldo  and  your  fellow- 
countrymen  under  his  command.  When, 
six  weeks  ago,  I  learned  that  General  Agui- 


234  APPENDIX. 

naldo  had  arrived  incognito  in  Singapore,  I 
immediately  souglit  liim  out.  An  hour's 
interview  convinced  me  that  he  was  the 
man  for  the  occasion,  and,  having  commu- 
nicated with  Admiral  Dewey,  I  accordingly 
arranged  for  him  to  join  the  latter,  which 
he  did  at  Cavite.  The  rest  you  know.  I 
am  thankful  to  have  been  the  means,  though 
merely  the  accidental  means,  of  bringing 
about  the  arrangement  between  General 
Aguinaldo  and  Admiral  Dewey,  which  has 
resulted  so  happily.  I  can  only  hope  that 
the  eventual  outcome  will  be  all  that  can  be 
desired  for  the  hapiDiness  and  welfare  of  the 
Filipinos.  My  parting  words  to  General 
Aguinaldo  were,  "General,  when  you  have 
proved  yourself  great,  prove  yourself  mag- 
nanimous, ' '  and  from  the  generous  treatment 
that  we  understand  he  has  accorded  to  the 
Spanish  prisoners,  taken  in  the  recent  fight, 
he  has  done  so.'     (Applause.) 

"Dr.  Santos  then,  addressing  his  fellow- 
countrymen  (Paysanos),  called  for  succes- 
sive vivas  for  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  for  Admiral  Dewey,  and  for  Consul- 
General  Pratt;  for  England,  the  'nation 
hospitaliere,'  and  for  the  editors  of  the 
Singapore  Free  Fress  and  Straits  Times. 
Consul-General  Pratt  called  for  vivas  for 


NOTE  III.  235 

General  Aguinaldo  and  the  Filipino  peo- 
ple. 

''Mr.  Spencer  Pratt  subsequently  pre- 
sented an  American  flag  to  Dr.  Santos  for 
the  Filipino  deputation.  'TMs  flag,'  he 
said,  'was  born  in  battle,  and  is  the  em- 
blem of  that  very  liberty  that  you  are 
seeking  to  attain.  Its  red  stripes  represent 
the  blood  that  was  shed  for  the  cause,  the 
white  the  j)urity  of  the  motive,  the  blue 
field  the  azure  of  the  sky,  the  stars  the  free 
and  independent  States  of  the  Union.  Take 
it,  and  keep  it  as  a  souvenir  of  this  occa- 
sion.' 

"On  receiving  the  flag  from  the  Con- 
sul's hands,  Dr.  Santos  called  for  three 
cheers  for  the  American  nation,  waving  the 
flag  on  high,  and  stating  that  the  Fili- 
pinos would  always  cherish  this  emblem, 
which  would  be  preserved  for  future  genera- 
tions to  look  upon  with  pride." 

The  author  has  received  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Howard  W.  Bray  which  gives  further  light 
on  this  phase  of  the  question.  It  is  dated 
Labuan,  N.  Borneo,  May  4,  1900,  and  is 
in  part  as  follows  : 

"I  am  in  receipt  of  yours  of  2d  March 
last,  which  has  been  forwarded  me  from 
Singapore.     I  have  taken  up  a,  temporary 


236  APPENDIX. 

residence  here  pending  settlement  of  trou- 
bles in  the  Philippines  ;  but  as  that  unhappy 
country  is  farther  off  than  ever  from  being 
pacified,  I  have  now  decided  to  settle  down 
in  the  State  of  Brunei  when  his  Highness 
the  Sultan  has  given  me  certain  land  con- 
cessions which  will  eventually  attract  many 
of  these  Filii^inos  who  wish  to  be  free  of 
American  rule.  Brunei  is  just  across  the 
Bay  on  the  mainland  of  Borneo  and  popu- 
lated by  people  of  the  same  race  as  the 
Philippines,  although  professing  Islamism  ; 
yet  having  had  18  years'  experience  of  the 
Malay  races  and  studied  their  idiosyncrasies, 
their  turn  of  thought,  and  mastered  that 
racial  individuality  impossible  to  describe, 
I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  this  is  the 
best  thing  to  do  rather  than  face  the  chaos 
that  is  now  reigning,  and  likely  to  reign, 
indefinitely  in  the  Philippines  under  Ameri- 
can rule.  I  regret  extremely  having  to  leave 
that  beautiful  country  where  I  wished  to  live 
and  die,  but  that  charming  simplicity,  abso- 
lute confidence,  unbounded  hospitality,  and 
gallantry  so  conspicuous  among  Filipinos 
of  all  classes  from  highest  to  lowest  has  re- 
ceived a  blow  from  which  it  will  never  more 
recover,  and  their  confidence  in  the  white 
race  has  gone.     Spain  with  all  her  faults 


NOTE  III.  237 

lias  never  been  guilty  of  the  carnage  and 
plunder  wliicli  liave  followed  in  tlie  wake  of 
American  'benevolent  assimilation.'  The 
nation  forsootli  which  came  under  the  pre- 
text of  delivering  the  people  from  Spanish 
bondage ! 

"  Ee  the  interviews  between  Consul  Pratt 
and  Aguinaldo,  I  cannot  do  better  than  send 
you  also  under  registered  cover  the  Singa- 
pore Free  Press  of  4  May,  1898,  which  gives 
in  substance  and  fact  very  much  the  version 
of  what  happened.  I  must  add,  as  an  intro- 
duction, that  some  time  before  Aguinaldo' s 
arrival  in  Singapore  I  had  been  in  daily 
communication  with  Consul-General  Spen- 
cer Pratt,  furnishing  him  with  information 
which  one  having  my  unique  knowledge  of 
the  Philippines  alone  possessed,  which  was 
all  passed  on  to  Admiral  Dewey.  I  knew  the 
Spaniards  had  no  torpedoes  nor  mines,  in- 
formation not  possessed  by  any  other  for- 
eigner. I  had  friends  in  Cavite  arsenal  who 
were  patriotic  Filipinos,  and,  as  I  enjoy  the 
confidence  of  these  people  as  no  other  white 
man,  I  was  able  to  imx)art  this  (for  Dewey) 
most  important  and  vital  information,  and 
other  of  the  same  sort,  such  as  a  place  where 
in  case  of  necessity  the  American  fleet  could 


238  APPENDIX. 

obtain  coal,  etc.,  etc.  I  saw  an  autograph 
letter  from  Dewey  to  Pratt  tliankiug  liim 
for  his  information,  which  he  went  on  to  say- 
came  in  most  welcome  and  valuable  at  a  time 
when  reliable  and  valuable  information  was 
scarce  and  difficult  to  obtain.  I  enclosed  with 
my  information  a  rough  plan  or  two  which 
were  sent  on  to  Dewey  also.  It  was  when 
in  interviews  with  Pratt  about  this  time 
that  the  latter  urged  me  to  do  all  I  could  to 
get  Aguinaldo  down  to  Singapore.  After  a 
lot  of  telegrams  (paid  by  me),  I  prevailed 
on  Aguinaldo  to  come  down.  Even  then  I 
had  some  trouble  to  persuade  him  and  the 
members  of  his  staff  and  head  of  the  Fili- 
pino Committee  that  it  would  be  better  for 
them  to  join  issue  with  the  Americans 
rather  than  undertake  independent  action. 
Two  or  three,  as  it  turns  out  now,  far-seeing 
Filipinos  were  obstinate  in  their  objections 
to  this  and  advised  a  waiting  policy  ;  allow 
the  American  fleet  to  destroy  the  Spanish, 
and  then  for  the  leaders  of  the  late  rebellion 
who  were  in  Hong  Kong  to  come  over  in  a 
special  steamer  with  arms,  land  at  a  point 
on  the  coast  and  finish  with  the  Spaniards  ; 
the  rout  of  the  latter  would  then  have  been 
more  complete,  and  Dewey  powerless  to 
prevent  it  for  want  of  men.     The  Spaniards 


NOTE   III.  239 

also  ■would  have  willingly  come  to  terms 
with  the  Filipinos,  and  the  Philippines 
would  not  now  be  suffering  this  terrible 
affliction  of  having  its  homes  and  fair  land 
ruined,  and  history  would  have  had  to 
chronicle  otherwise.  My  influence,  how- 
ever, prevailed,  and  Aguinaldo  consented  to 
receive  the  visit  of  the  American  Consul- 
General,  and  in  this  visit  Aguinaldo' s  policy 
and  intentions  and  demands  were  clearly 
defined,  under  the  following  heads  drawn  up 
by  myself  in  consultation  ivith  Aguinaldo  and 
his  followers.  (See  Aguinaldo' s  Policy  at 
foot  of  'page  in  Free  Press.)  The  actual 
copy  submitted  I  have  not  at  hand  at  the 
moment,  but  the  Free  Press  version  is  pretty 
nearly  correct,  and  gives  a  general  idea  of 
the  whole.  You  will  notice  first  and  fore- 
most is  Filipino  Independence  ;  that  was  a  sine 
qua  7ion,  and  the  Filipinos  undertook  at  first 
to  seek  the  advice  of  European  and  Ameri- 
can advisers  (hut  always  appointed  hy  them- 
selves, not  hy  America).  Let  me  add,  the 
editor  of  Singapore  Free  Press — which  is 
not  a  yellow  but  very  sedate  journal — was 
the  only  white  man  in  Singapore  outside 
myself  and  Pratt  who  had  any  communica- 
tion with  Aguinaldo  and  was  cognizant  of 
all  that  took  place,   and  it  was  he  who 


240  APPENDIX. 

introduced  me  to  the  Consnl  in  the  first 
instance.  In  this  first  intei'view  Consul 
Pratt  stated  that  he  must  communicate  the 
result  to  Admiral  (then  Commodore)  Dewey, 
and  requested  the  favor  of  another  inter- 
view when  the  latter' s  reply  came.  This  took 
place  at  the  Consulate  in  Eaffles  Hotel,  when 
Mr.  Consul  Pratt  stated  he  had  received  an 
urgent  message  from  Dewey  requesting 
Aguinaldo  to  proceed  immediately  to  join 
him,  of  course  on  the  conditions  laid  down  in 
the  first  interview.  In  order  to  keep  the  ar- 
rangement secret,  I  was  deputed  to  arrange 
for  Aguinaldo  and  staff  to  get  away  to 
Hong  Kong,  and  I  took  out  their  passage 
with  the  P.  &  O.  S.  S.  Co.  under  assumed 
names.  What  took  place  afterwards  has 
now  passed  into  history  and  cannot  be 
altered,  however  much  Dewey  and  McKin- 
ley  would  like  to  do  so.  In  confirmation 
of  this  arrangement,  I  also  send  you  Singa- 
pore Free  Press  of  9  June  containing  the 
report  of  Mr.  Pratt's  "reception  of  a  Fili- 
pino deputation  and  accepting  an  address 
of  congratulation.  I  was  in  the  Editor's 
office  when  Consul  Pratt  himself  supervised 
the  reply  he  made  before  going  into  print. 
The  address  you  will  notice  says  '  We  hope 
that  the  United  States,  your  nation,  will 


NOTE   III.  241 

ef&caciously  second  the  programme  ar- 
ranged between  you,  sir,  and  General  Agui- 
naldo  in  this  part  of  Singapore,  and  secure 
to  us  our  independence  under  the  protection 
of  the  United  States.'  Let  any  impartial 
man  judge  from  this !  It  is  no  use  for  me 
to  say  any  more.  .  .  . 

"Admiral  Dewey's  assertion  that  I  am 
in  the  pay  of  the  Filipino  scouts,  etc.,  is 
gratuitous  on  his  part.  Neither  from  them 
nor  from  America  have  I  received  one  red 
cent ;  on  the  contrary  I  am  a  very  heavy 
sufferer  owing  to  my  action  to  assist  the 
United  States.  The  Spaniards,  infuriated 
at  my  action,  destroyed  property  of  mine 
on  my  estate  in  the  south  of  Luzon  to  the 
value  of  $15,000,  all  my  personal  effects, 
curios,  and  ethnographical  and  anthropo- 
logical collection  of  15  years,  besides  family 
heirlooms,  etc.,  impossible  to  replace.  Will 
the  United  States  ever  indemnify  me  for 
this  loss  ?  Ceiiainly  not ;  not  even  for  the 
telegrams  I  am  out  of  pocket  by  on  her 
behalf." 


16 


242  APPENDIX. 


NOTE  IV. 

THE  SOVEREIGNTY  PROCLAMATION. 

Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  D.  C. 
December  21,  1898. 

To  THE  Secretary  of  War  : 

Sir, — The  destruction  of  the  Spanish  fleet 
in  the  harbor  of  Manila  by  the  United  States 
naval  squadron,  commanded  by  Eear- Ad- 
miral Dewey,  followed  by  the  reduction  of 
the  city  and  the  surrender  of  the  Spanish 
forces,  practically  effected  the  conquest  of 
the  Philippine  Islands  and  the  suspension 
of  Spanish  sovereignty  therein.  With  the 
signature  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace  between 
the  United  States  and  Spain  by  their  re- 
spective plenipotentiaries  at  Paris  on  the 
10th  instant,  and  as  the  result  of  the  vic- 
tories of  American  arms,  the  future  control, 
disposition,  and  government  of  the  Philip- 
pine Islands  are  ceded  to  the  United  States. 
In  fulfilment  of  the  rights  of  sovereignty 
thus  acquired,  and  the  responsible  obliga- 
tions of  government  thus  assumed,  the 
actual   occupation  and   administration  of 


NOTE  IV.  243 

tlie  entire  group  of  the  Philippine  Islands 
becomes  immediately  necessary,  and  the 
military  government  heretofore  maintained 
by  the  United  States  in  the  city,  harbor, 
and  Bay  of  Manila,  is  to  be  extended  with 
all  possible  despatch  to  the  whole  of  the 
ceded  territory. 

In  performing  this  duty  the  military  com- 
mander of  the  United  States  is  enjoined  to 
make  known  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Philip- 
pine Islands  that  in  succeeding  to  the  sov- 
ereignty of  Spain,  in  severing  the  former 
political  relations  of  the  inhabitants  and  in 
establishing  a  new  political  power,  the 
authority  of  the  United  States  is  to  be  ex- 
erted for  the  security  of  the  i^ersons  and 
property  of  the  people  of  the  islands  and 
for  the  confirmation  of  all  their  private 
rights  and  relations.  It  will  be  the  duty  of 
the  commander  of  the  forces  of  occupation 
to  announce  and  proclaim  in  the  most  pub- 
lic manner  that  we  come  not  as  invaders  or 
conquerors,  but  as  friends,  to  protect  the 
natives  in  their  homes,  in  their  employ- 
ments, and  in  their  personal  and  religious 
rights.  All  persons  who,  either  by  active 
aid  or  by  honest  submission,  co-operate  with 
the  government  of  the  United  States  to  give 
effect  to  these  beneficial  purposes,  will  re- 


244  APPENDIX. 

ceive  tlie  reward  of  its  support  and  pro- 
tection. All  others  will  be  brought  within 
the  lawful  rule  we  have  assumed,  with 
firmness  if  need  be,  but  without  severity  so 
far  as  may  be  possible. 

William  McKinley. 


NOTE  V. 


Geneeal  Otis  explains  in  his  report  why- 
he  censored  the  President's  proclamation. 
He  says : 

^' After  fully  considering  the  President's 
proclamation,  and  the  temper  of  the  Ta- 
galos,  with  whom  I  was  daily  discussing 
political  i)roblems,  and  the  friendly  inten- 
tions of  the  United  States  Government 
towards  them,  I  concluded  that  there  were 
certain  words  and  expressions  therein,  such 
as  ^sovereignty,'  'right  of  cession,'  and 
those  which  directed  immediate  occupation, 
etc.,  which,  though  most  admirably  em- 
ployed and  tersely  expressive  of  actual  con- 
ditions, might  be  advantageously  used  by 
the  Tagalo  war-party  to  incite  widespread 
hostilities  among  the  natives.  The  igno- 
rant classes  had  been  taught  to  believe  that 
certain  words,  as  'sovereignty'  'protection,' 


NOTE  VI.  245 

etc.,  had  a  peculiar  meaning  disastrous  to 
their  welfare  and  significant  of  future  polit- 
ical domination,  like  that  from  which  they 
had  recently  been  freed.  It  was  my  opinion, 
therefore,  that  I  would  be  justified  in  so 
amending  the  paper  that  the  beneficent 
object  of  the  United  States  Government 
would  be  brought  clearly  within  the  com- 
prehension of  the  people,  and  this  conclu- 
sion was  the  more  readily  reached  because 
of  the  radical  change  of  the  past  few  days 
in  the  constitution  of  Aguinaldo's  govern- 
ment, which  could  not  have  been  understood 
at  Washington  at  the  time  the  proclamation 
was  prepared." 


NOTE  YI. 


The  report  of  Wilcox  and  Sargent  ap- 
peared in  the  Philadelphia  Evening  Bulletin 
of  February  1,  1899,  as  a  Washington  de- 
spatch, as  follows  : 

"The  clearest  and  most  accurate  picture 
of  conditions  as  they  exist  in  the  interior 
of  the  great  island  of  Luzon,  the  largest  of 
the  Philippine  grouj),  with  an  area  equalling 
that  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  that  has  yet 


246  APPENDIX. 

been  presented  to  the  official  eye,  is  that  set 
out  in  a  report  made  to  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment of  the  tour  of  two  young  American 
naval  officers,  Paymaster  W.  B.  Wilcox  and 
Cadet  E.  L.  Sargent,  officers  of  Dewey's 
fleet.  The  achievement  of  these  young 
naval  officers  has  earned  not  only  the  praise 
of  Dewey,  but  also  of  the  officials  here  in 
Washington,  to  whom  it  has  been  sub- 
mitted. 

"  Last  October  Paymaster  Wilcox  and 
Cadet  Sargent,  at  the  outset,  were  warned 
that  they  could  not  pass  the  lines  of  the 
Philippine  forces  without  permission  of 
Aguinaldo.  Upon  application  to  this  leader 
at  Malolos,  his  head-quarters,  he  first  re- 
quired a  formal  sanction  of  their  request  by 
Admiral  Dewey  and  General  Otis,  or  Gen- 
eral McArthur,  and  later,  when  this  was 
produced,  declined  altogether  to  issue  a 
passiDort,  although  he  assured  the  officers 
that  they  were  free  to  proceed  without 
molestation  from  his  forces.  Accordingly, 
a  start  was  made  October  5,  with  five  ser- 
vants, eight  horses,  and  between  three  hun- 
dred and  four  hundred  pounds  of  baggage, 
including  a  camj)  outfit,  two  rifles  and  a 
shot-gun,  with  ammunition. 

'* '  From  Eosales  to  Humingan  and  thence 


NOTE  VI.  247 

to  San  Jose  our  experiences  of  travel  were 
mucli  the  same  as  those  already  described. 
Labor  was  cheap.  Ten  men  could  usually 
be  engaged  for  a  day  for  the  sum  of  two 
dollars  in  silver,  or  less  than  ten  cents  in 
gold  per  man. 

'^  'Throughout  this  part  of  the  province 
of  Xueva  Icaga  almost  the  only  form  of 
agriculture  encouraged  at  present  by  the 
natives  is  rice  growing.  A  little  sugar  is 
raised.  The  land  is  rich  ;  we  encountered 
no  barren  or  unfertile  spots.  The  fields  at 
this  season  of  the  year  are  several  inches 
deep  in  water.  There  was  no  timber  of 
value  along  the  direct  line  of  our  routes, 
but  in  the  hills  along  the  river  Agno  forests 
could  be  seen.  There  are  very  few  forests, 
and  practically  no  cattle.  There  was  a 
great  number  of  buffalo,  and  these  are  of 
extreme  utility.  The  principal  labor  of  the 
natives  at  this  season  of  the  year  is  the 
threshing  of  rice.  This  is  done  primitively 
with  implements  that  resemble  on  a  large 
scale  the  pestle  and  mortar  of  a  chemist. 
The  mortar  is  replaced  by  a  section  of  a  log 
of  hard  wood,  hollowed  out  to  receive  the 
grains.  The  pestle  by  a  hard  club  from 
four  to  five  feet  long  and  about  six  inches 
in  diameter  at  each  end. 


248  APPENDIX. 

^' '  The  Presidente  and  otlier  local  ofdcials 
are  native  Filipinos.  Most  of  them  have 
received  a  certain  amount  of  education  at 
religious  schools  in  Manila.  They  are  in- 
telligent men  and  are  extremely  eager  to 
learn  ne^^s  from  the  outside  world.  Their 
knowledge  of  modern  history  and  geog- 
raphy is  extremely  limited,  and  their  igno- 
rance of  current  events  is  surprising.  We 
brought  them  their  first  definite  informa- 
tion with  regard  to  Cuba  and  to  their  own 
present  status.  One  or  two  of  them  had 
heard  of  the  Congress  at  Paris,  but  no  one 
had  any  idea  as  to  its  object,  nor  as  to  its 
relation  to  themselves.  They  were  well 
grounded  on  only  three  points,-:— the  de- 
struction of  the  Spanish  squadron  in  Ma- 
nila Harbor,  the  surrender  of  Manila,  and 
the  declaration  hy  the  Philippine  Government 
at  Malolos,  and  of  the  independence  of  the 
Islands  and  the  estahlishment  of  a  republican 
form  of  government  with  Aguinaldo  as  presi- 
dent. (Author's  italics.)  Even  on  these 
points  the  details  they  had  received  were 
very  inaccurate.' 

''Leaving  Carranglan  the  Presidente  local 
insisted  upon  their  taking  a  guard  of  twelve 
soldiers  with  a  sergeant,   "to  protect  us 


NOTE   VI.  249 

against  Igorrotes,  or  savages,  that  are  said 
to  infest  the  hills  between  this  town  and 
Aritao." 

"  'We  arrived  at  Aritao  shortly  after  sun- 
down. A  broad  branch  of  the  Eio  Magat 
separated  us  from  this  town.  There  was  a 
"  banca,"  or  native  dug  out  canoe,  however 
in  which  men  and  baggage  were  taken  to 
the  other  side,  while  the  horses  were  swum 
across  at  a  point  higher  uj)  the  stream.  Of 
the  timber  which  we  have  seen  the  most 
valued  on  the  island  is  the  "mulawe,"  so- 
called  in  both  Spanish  and  Telga.  This  is  a 
tall,  straight  tree  with  a  very  few  branches  ; 
the  bark  is  very  light  in  color,  but  the 
wood  is  very  dark  and  close  grained  and 
resists  weather  and  water.  It  is  much  used 
for  boats,  and  for  the  floors  and  exposed 
uprights  of  the  houses.  There  is  also  much 
bamboo,  some  of  which  has  been  cut.  The 
heavier  trees  are  as  yet  unmolested.  We 
saw  no  signs  of  savages  nor  of  poisonous 
snakes,  against  which  we  had  been  warned 
by  the  natives  of  the  district. 

'' '  We  spent  the  night  at  Bambang.  We 
were  accompanied  by  several  soldiers  and 
Lieutenant  Aguinaldo.  This  was  the  first 
time  that  a  commissioned  officer  had  formed 
part  of  our  escort.     This  town  is  the  cajji- 


250  APPENDIX. 

tal  of  tlie  province,  and  has  a  population 
of  about  12,000  inhabitants.  At  this  place 
we  met  the  first  formidable  opposition  to 
our  progress, 

'^  'From  Bagagag  to  the  next  town.  Cor- 
don (called  Estella  on  the  map),  there  is 
only  a  mountain  trail.  This  trail  is  infested 
at  certain  seasons  by  Igorrotes,  who  waylay 
and  murder  persons  travelling  in  small  and 
unarmed  parties.  Several  murders  have 
occurred  here  recently.  Three  small  parties 
of  natives  with  horses  and  buffaloes  had 
been  waiting  at  Bagagag  for  several  days 
for  a  party  to  travel  with  a  military  escort. 
They  joined  us  next  day. 

''  '■  During  our  detention  at  Carig  we  were 
not  treated  as  i)risoners  ;  we  were  informed 
that  if  we  wished  to  return  to  Manila  by 
the  same  road  we  had  followed  in  leaving 
it,  we  were  at  liberty  to  do  so.  Within 
the  village  itself  we  had,  of  course,  entire 
liberty.  We  asked  Seiior  Yilla  if  the  Phil- 
ippine Eepublic  intended  to  demand  pass- 
ports of  the  travellers,  and  used  the  same 
argument  that  had  proved  so  efficient  at 
Bayombong ;  he  replied  that  it  would  be 
the  custom  only  in  time  of  war.  He  classed 
this  i)eriod  as  a  time  of  war,  and  the  con- 
gress at  Paris  as  a  mere  suspension  of  hos- 


NOTE  VI.  251 

tilities,  at  the  end  of  wliicli  tlieir  nation 
might  be  again  enveloped  in  war.  Onr  rela- 
tions with  Seiior  Villa  were  mainly  official ; 
his  manner  towards  us  was  brusque,  and  at 
times  discourteous.  He  was  extremely  sus- 
picious of  us,  particularly  of  the  diary  that 
we  kept  from  day  to  day,  and  of  a  camera 
that  formed  part  of  our  equipment.  He 
became  slowly  convinced,  however,  that  we 
were  not  seeking  for  military  information. 
After  he  had  assured  himself  of  this,  he 
told  us  that  the  colonel  feared  that  we  were 
making  maps  of  the  country.  During  the 
rest  of  our  journey  we  were  entirely  free 
from  the  taint  of  this  suspicion.  According 
to  Seiior  Villa's  statement,  the  charge  had 
first  been  made  by  the  Spanish  prisoners, 
who  had  never  ceased  to  warn  the  natives  that 
American  troops  would  come  into  the  province 
to  conquer  them,  when  they  would  find  them- 
selves in  worse  hands  than  before  they  rebelled 
against  Spain.     (Author's  italics.) 

"  ^  In  the  streams,  and  particularly  in  the 
river  Magat  and  the  Eio  Grande  de  Cagayan, 
there  are  many  alligators,  of  which  the 
natives  are  in  great  fear.  No  native  will 
venture  into  the  water  or  into  the  grass 
along  the  bank  until  he  has  first  thrown 
stones  in  front  of  him  to  frighten  away  any 


252  APPENDIX. 

alligators  whicli  may  be  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. 

'^ '  We  arrived  at  Ilagan  that  evening, 
November  1st.  This  town  is  the  capital 
site  of  the  province  of  Isabella.  It  has  a 
population  of  between  ten  and  fifteen  thou- 
sand inhabitants,  and  has  many  large 
wooden  houses,  roofed  with  corrugated 
iron,  giving  it  rather  a  European  appear- 
ance. It  is  well  situated  for  defence,  being 
at  the  junction  of  the  river  Piuananauan 
with  the  Eio  Grande.  It  is  protected  by 
these  wide  streams  from  all  points  except 
the  south.  To  attack  the  city  by  land 
from  the  south  it  would  be  necessary  to 
bring  troops  by  the  eastern  side  of  the  Eio 
Grande,  where  there  are  no  roads.  The 
site  of  the  city  is  raised,  moreover,  about 
forty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river.  In 
this  town  we  were  entertained  at  the  house 
of  a  wealthy  citizen.  The  first  night  after 
our  arrival  a  hall  was  given  in  our  honor,  at 
which  there  were  over  fifty  young  ladies  and  an 
equal  number  of  icell-dressed  and  gentlemanly 
men.  The  ball  icas  loell  conducted  ;  the  dances 
were  Spanish.  The  next  evening  we  were  in- 
vited to  the  theatre  to  see  two  one-act  Spanish 
comedies,  presented  by  the  society  young  people 
of  the  town.     They  icere  both  excellently  given, 


NOTE  VI.  253 

and    spoke  weU  for   the    intelligence  of   the 
players.     (Author's  italics.) 

"'"We  desired  to  continue  our  journey 
from  Ilagan  to  Tuguegarao,  and  from  that 
point  across  the  mountains  to  the  western 
coast.  Th  is  request  was  wired  by  Senor  Villa 
to  Colonel  Tirona,  at  Aparri.  The  ofScer 
replied  that  it  would  not  be  possible  to 
make  the  proposed  trip  at  this  season  of 
the  year.  He  repeated  his  invitation  to 
visit  Aparri,  taking  a  steamer  from  that 
port,  disembarking  at  the  northern  point 
on  the  western  coast,  and  continue  our 
journey  south  by  land.  This  arrangement 
was  accepted  as  the  most  satisfactory  one 
left  open  to  us.  There  are  many  Spanish 
prisoners  in  this  town — civil  officers,  priests, 
soldiers.  Eighty  four  priests  were  paraded 
in  the  street  for  our  inspection,  only  four  or 
five  of  them  wearing  robes  of  their  office. 
Nearly  all  of  them  wore  long  hair  and  beards. 
They  appeared  in  good  health,  and  we  could 
detect  no  evidence  of  maltreatment.  These 
prisoners  have  been  assembled  from  different 
parts  of  the  province.  They  are  kept  under 
stricter  guard  than  either  of  the  two  other 
classes  of  prisoners,  for  the  reason  that  the 
native  officials  fear  that  if  permitted  to  go 
among  the  people  tJiey  will  use  the  influence 


254  APPENDIX. 

they  possess  through  their  position  in  the  Church 
to  incite  them  against  the  Philippine  govern- 
ment. We  also  met  Don  Jose  Perez,  a  Span- 
iard, who  had  previously  been  governor  of  the 
island.  He  was  well  dressed,  and  seemed  to  be 
enjoying  all  the  ordinary  comforts.  (Author's 
italics.) 

'' '  In  tliese  two  days  we  passed  out  of  tlie 
province  of  Labella,  and  entirely  through 
the  province  of  Cayagen.  These  are  the 
leading  tobacco  provinces  in  the  island. 
An  idea  of  their  wealth  can  be  obtained 
from  the  fact  that  before  the  Philij)pine 
insurrection  three  million  dollars  in  tobacco 
came  yearly  from  the  one  province  of  Isa- 
bella. The  tobacco  of  this  province  is  pre- 
ferred for  exportation  to  that  of  Cayagen. 
Both  provinces  raise  also  sugar,  rice,  cocoa, 
and  coffee.     Cattle  are  shipped  from  Aparri. 

^^'  The  steamer  "  SaturTias,^^  which  had  left 
the  Imrhor  the  day  before  our  an^ival,  brought 
news  from  Hong  Kong  papers  that  the  Seyiators 
from  the  United  States  at  the  Congress  at  Paris 
favored  the  independence  of  the  islands  with  an 
American  protectorate.  Colonel  Tirona  con- 
sidered the  information  of  sufficient  reliability 
to  justify  him  in  regarding  the  Philippine  inde- 
pendence as  assured,  and  warfare  in  the  island 
at  an  end.    For  this  reason  lie  proceeded  to 


NOTE  VI.  255 

relinquish  military  command  lie  held  over  the 
provinces  and  to  place  this  poioer  in  the  Imnds 
of  a  civil  officer,  elected  iy  the  people.  This 
officer  also  tnade  a  speech,  in  which  he  thayiked 
the  disciplined  military  forces  and  their  colonel 
for  the  services  they  had  rendered  the  provinces, 
and  assured  them  that  the  war  they  had  begun 
would  he  perpetuated  hy  the  people  of  the 
provinces,  lohere  every  man,  woman,  and  child 
stood  ready  to  take  up  arms  to  defend  their 
newly-won  liberty,  and  resist  to  the  last  drop  of 
their  blood  the  attempt  of  any  nation  whatever 
to  bring  them  back  to  their  former  state  of  de- 
pendence. Sis  speech  was  impassioned.  He 
then  placed  his  hand  on  an  ojJen  Bible  and  took 
the  oath  of  office.     (Author's  italics.) 

"'We  were  liosiDitably  entertained  at 
Aparri  ;  two  balls  were  given  in  our  honor. 
The  town  has  a  i)opulation  of  20,000  inhab- 
itants. It  has  many  handsome  houses  and 
several  well-defined  streets.  The  military 
force  stationed  here  consists  of  three  hun- 
dred soldiers,  in  addition  to  which  the  harbor 
has  a  protection  of  the  gunboat  "Philip- 
pina,"  which  carries  two  guns  of  a  calibre 
of  about  three  inches.  There  are  no  Span- 
iards here,  with  the  exception  of  two  or 
three  merchants.  One  of  these,  representing 
tJie  company  of  the  steamer  "  Saiurnas,^^  we 


256  APPENDIX. 

have  met.  Se  is  pursuing  Ms  "business  entirely 
unmolested.     (Author's  italics.) 

''  ^We  remained  at  Yigan  all  next  day, 
November  12.  It  had  rained  during  the 
night,  rendering  impassable  a  part  of  the 
road  to  the  next  town.  We  walked  through 
the  town  and  visited  the  house  of  several 
trades-people.  At  one  of  these  houses  we 
heard  the  first  and  only  definite  complaint 
which  came  to  our  ears  during  the  entire 
journey  on  the  part  of  the  natives  against 
the  present  government.  These  peoiDle 
complained  of  the  taxes  imposed  upon  them, 
and  even  went  so  far  as  to  state  that  they 
preferred  the  Spanish  Government.  This 
statement  was  made  in  the  presence  of  a 
party  of  six  natives,  and  was  acquiesced  to 
by  all :  they  were  all,  however,  of  the  same 
family. 

"  ^In  going  from  Tagudin  to  Bangan  we 
passed  from  the  province  of  Hocus  Sur  into 
that  of  Union.  The  province  of  Hocus  Sur 
raises  principally  rice,  tobacco,  sugar,  cattle, 
and  sheej).  The  tobacco  is  of  an  inferior 
quality,  being  coarser  and  stronger  than 
that  raised  in  Isabella  and  Cayagen.  The 
cultivation  of  cocoanuts  is  profitable,  and 
is  increasing.  Goats  and  pigs  are  raised  in 
great  numbers.     Many  of  the  people  are 


NOTE   VI.  257 

engaged  in  the  weaving  of   cotton,    from 
which  they  make  cloth,  towels,  etc. 

' ' '  In  the  mountains  there  are  mines  of 
copper,  sulphur,  and  gold ;  but  these  we 
have  not  seen.  The  streams  are  numerous, 
but  manj"  of  them  have  very  little  current. 
They  are  crossed  by  a  ferry ;  a  bamboo 
raft,  hauled  across  by  means  of  a  bamboo 
rope  which  spans  the  stream.  Travelling 
on  this  road  in  rainy  season  is  rather  diffi- 
cult. Carriages  are  usually  used,  but  they 
are  frequently  mired  and  the  passengers  are 
compelled  to  walk.  Carriages  are  drawn 
by  either  horses  and  steers  or  buffaloes, 
according  to  the  state  of  the  road.'  " 


THE   END. 


17 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  AT  LOS  ANGELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


m  6 


im^" 

v 

'^^m 

^^. 

1  >r-  T 

1 

'.^  <:  n. 


MAY  1  2   1955 

JUN3    195$ 

REC'D  MLD 
NOV  1  5  1960 


W    V 


1 1     JUN  5 
APR  2  4 


ORION 


OEiON    jyn20'98 


Form  L-9-15m-2,'36 


JUL  19197^ 


URL       J^OV'*^' 

^^rV  16 1975 


1975 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    000  779  115    5 


3  1158  00827  5322 


